The complete works of Thomas Manton, D.D. : with memoir of the author

SHERATON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY

EASTER, 1906

THE

WORKS OF THOMAS MANTON, D.D.

VOL. IV.

COUNCIL OF PUBLICATION.

W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D., Professor of Theology, Congregational
Union, Edinburgh.

JAMES BEGG, D.D., Minister of Newington Free Church, Edinburgh.

THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., S.T.P., Professor of Divinity, University,
Edinburgh.

D. T. K. DRUMMOND, M.A., Minister of St Thomas's Episcopal Church,
Edinburgh.

WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Church
History, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh.

ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., Minister of Broughton Place United Presby
terian Church, Edinburgh.

«£bitor.
REV. THOMAS SMITH, D.D., EDINBURGH.

THE COMPLETE WORKS

OF

THOMAS MANTON, D.D

VOLUME IV.

CONTAINING

A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY, OR AN EXPOSITION, WITH
NOTES, ON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.

1871.

CONTENTS.

A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY; OR, AN EXPOSITION WITH NOTES, ON
THE EPISTLE OF JAMES —

Epistle Dedicatory . . . . . .3

Advertisement to the Reader . . 7
Preface ....... 8

Chapter I. . . . 15

II. . . 179

III. . .270

IV. . . . 325
V. . 398

A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY,

OR

AN EXPOSITION WITH NOTES

ON THE

EPISTLE OF JAMES.

YOL. IV.

THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

To the Honourable Colonel ALEXANDER POPHAM, a Member of
Parliament.

SIR, — Dedications, though often abused to a vain flattery, are of
ancient use, and may be of great profit. The custom is the less to be
disparaged, because we find it hallowed by the practice of one of the
penmen of the Holy Scriptures, St Luke, in his Gospel and the Acts,
Luke i. 3, Acts i. 3, both which he inscribeth to Theophilus, a per
son not only eminent in religion, but dignified with birth and place ; l
which hath been imitated by the holy men of God in all ages ; their
aim in such inscriptions being, partly to signify their thankfulness for
favours received in this public and spiritual way of return ; partly to
oblige persons eminent by the respects of the church, and by the
honour of their name, to commend their labours to public acceptance ;
partly by an innocent guile to bring them under a greater obligation
in the profession and practice of the truths of religion. It is usual in
scripture to ascribe a testimony, producible at the day of judgment, to
the more notable circumstances and accidents of human life ; as to the
rust of hoarded money, James v. 3 ; to the solemn publications of the
gospel, the dust of the apostles' feet, &c., Matt. x. And so, I remem
ber, in the primitive times, when grown persons were baptized, they
were wont to leave a stole and white garment in the vestry of the
church for a testimony and witness. "Wherefore, when one Elpido-
phorus had revolted from the faith, the deacon of the church came
and told him, * 0 Elpidophorus, I will keep this stole as a monument
against thee to all eternity.' And truly books, being public monu
ments, are much of this nature, a testimony likely to be produced in
the day of judgment, not only against the author, but the persons to
whom they are inscribed, in case, on either side, there be any defection
in judgment or manners from the truths therein professed ; for they
being consigned to their respect and patronage, they are drawn into a
fellowship of the obligation.

1 So much I conceive is intimated in that form of address, KpdnaTe Oeo^tXe, a term
which is wont to be given to persons of honour, as Acts xxiv. 3, Kpariare &r)\i!;, and
Acts xxvi. 25, KpaTurre ^TJCTTG, in both places we render noble. And so by Justin Martyr
to Diognetus, to whom he giveth an account of the Christian religion, icpdrurre
(Just. Mart. Epist. ad Diog.)

4 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

Sir there are many reasons why I should prefix your name to this
work ' Besides the general relation you have to the place whew,1 by
SessincTof Godri have enjoyed a quiet and successful nnmstry
and service in the word for these seven years, I have good cause to
your frequent attendance upon these lectures and counte-

J . -i -i i ji T J n^-^4-'-,-^-,-, r\r\ TT/-mv annna Hmnncvsr,

[ religion, wr
private resp(

breaches which at any „— „ - .

violence- for all which, if the Lord would make me an instrument,
by the present exercises, of promoting your spiritual welfare, or warm-
in*' your heart into any raisedness of zeal and religious eminency,
that bv your example others maybe provoked to the emulation ot the
like virtue I shall have my aim and the fruit of my prayers. By
this inscription the book is become not only mine but yours ; you own
the truths to which I have witnessed, and it will be sad for our account
in the day of the Lord, if, after such a solemn profession, you or 1
should be found in a carnal and unregenerate condition.

Good sir, make it your work to honour him that hath advanced
you. Those differences of high and low, rich and poor, are only calcu
lated for the present world, and cannot outlive time. In the grave, at
the' day of judgment, and in heaven, there are no such distinctions.
The grave taketh away all civil differences ; skulls wear no wreaths
and marks of honour : Job iii. 19, ' The small and the great are
there, and the servant is free from his master.' So at the day of
judgment : ' I saw the dead, both great and small, stand before the
Lord/ Rev. xx. 12. None can be exempted from trial at Christ's bar.
When civil differences vanish, moral take place. The distinc
tion then is good and bad, not great and small. Oh, sir, then you will
see that there is no birth like that to be born again of the Spirit, no
tenure like an interest in the covenant, no estate like the inheritance
of the saints in light, no magistracy like that whereby we sit at
Christ's right hand, judging angels and men, 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. How
will the faces of great men gather blackness, that now flourish in the
pomp and splendour of an outward estate, but then shall become the
scorn of God, and saints, and angels ! And those holy ones of God
shall come forth and say, * Lo, this is the man that made not God
his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and
strengthened himself in his wickedness I ' Ps. Iii. 7. Ah ! sir, wealth
and power are of no use in that day, unless it be to aggravate and
increase judgment. Many that are now despicable, so obscure that
they are lost in the tale and count of the world, shall then be
taken into the arms of Christ ; he will not be ashamed to confess
them man by man before his Father, Luke xii. 8 — Father, this is
one of mine. Oh 1 it is sweet to hear such an acknowledgment out of
Christ's own mouth. So also in heaven there are none poor. All the
vessels of glory are filled up. If there be any difference in the de
gree, the foundation of it is laid in grace, not greatness.
^ Sir, you will find in this epistle that men of your rank and qua
lity are liable to great corruptions;2 they soon grow proud, sensual,

1 Stoke-Newington.

2 See the notes on James i. 9, 11, and ii. 1-7, and v. 1-5.

THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 5

oppressive, worldly, stubborn against the word : ' I went to the great
men, but they had altogether broken the yoke/ Jer. v. 5. To a
spiritual eye, the condition is no way desirable but as it giveth fairer
advantages of public usefulness and a more diffusive charity.
Greatness hath nothing greater than a heart to be willing, and a
power to be able to do good.1 Then it is a fair resemblance of that
perfection which is in God, who differeth from man in nothing so
much as the eternity of his being, the infiniteness of his power, and
the unweariedness of his love and goodness.2 It is the fond ambition
of man to sever these things. We all affect to be great, but not
good ; and would be as gods, not in holiness, but power. Nothing
hath cost the creature dearer since the creation. It turned angels
into devils, and Adam out of paradise. In these times we have seen
strange changes. God hath been contending with the oaks and
cedars, Amos ii. 9, and staining all worldly glory. Certainly there is
no security in anything on this side Christ ; whatever storm cometh,
you will find his bosom the surest place of retreat. The Lord give
you to lay up your soul there by the sure reposal of a lively and
active faith !

Sir, you will bear with my plainness and freedom with you ; other
addresses would neither be comely in me, nor pleasing to you. Our
work is not to flatter greatness, but, in the scripture sense (not in the
humour of the age), to level mountains, Luke iii. 5. Now, sir, the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you with all spiritual
blessings in Christ ; as also your pious consort, your hopeful buds,
with all the worthy relatives and branches of your family, that the
name of POPHAM may yield forth a sweet and fresh perfume in the
churches of Christ ; which I desire to fix here, as the prayer of him
who is, sir, yours, in all Christian observance,

THO. MANTON.

1 " Nihil habet fortuna magna majus quatn ut possit, et natura bona melius quam ut
velit, benefacere quamplurimis." — Tullius, Orat. pro Eege Deiotaro.

2 " Tpta £<TTIV £v oh diafitpuv £<ITLV 6 Qe6s, ai8ioTi)Tt ^(aijsf irepiovffly, dvvdjj.€&sf KOL! ^
SiaXeliretv eihroteiV TOVS avOpuirovs," — Themistius*

AN ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER.

GOOD HEADER, — It is usual with those that publish books, to premise
somewhat by way of excuse and acknowledgment of the unworthiness
of what they publish ; which, setting aside the modest sense that every
man should have of his own endeavours, seemeth not to be without
crime ; if it be unworthy, the excuse will not make it better or more
passable ; for this is to adventure upon a crime against conviction,
and (if we may allude to a matter so weighty) is somewhat like
Pilate's case, who washed his hands, and yet condemned Christ.
Usually such professions are but counterfeit; and that praise which
men seem to neglect, or beat back at the first hop, they readily take
at next rebound, which certainly is a vain and wicked artifice in
divine matters ; for besides the hypocrisy, there is a disparagement
done to the precious truths which they publish, whilst they would
seem to weaken the esteem of them, that they may the more plausibly
promote their own honour : the best that can be said is, that every
man in public would appear in a better dress than common infirmity
will allow ; and to this work we come not out of choice, but constraint.
For my own part (though I know apologies of this nature are little
credited), I can freely profess that I had no itch to appear in public,
as conceiving my gifts fitter for private edification ; and being humbled
with the constant burthen of four times a week preaching, what could
I do ? And if I had a mind to divulge my labours, some will wonder
that I made choice of this subject, which was conceived in my very
youth, and without the least aim of any further publication than to
the auditory that then attended upon it. But it being an entire piece,
and _ being persuaded by the renewed importunity of many gracious
ministers and Christians that it might conduce somewhat to public
benefit, I was willing to be deaf to all considerations of my own credit
and fame. Wherein is that to be accounted of, so one poor soul receive
comfort and profit? The Epistle of Jude was with this licensed to
the press. But being wearied with this and the constant returns of
my other employment, and hearing that another learned brother 1 in-
tendeth to publish his elaborate meditations on that epistle I shall
confine my thoughts to that privacy to which I had intended these,
had they not been thus publicly drawn forth. The matter herein

1 Mr Jenkins.

THE EPISTLE TO THE READER. 7

delivered, will, I conceive, be found holy and useful. If any expression
should be found that savoureth not of true piety, or suiteth not with
reverence to God, charity to men, or zeal of good works, I do, from
my soul, wish it expunged, and shall upon conviction take the next
occasion to retract it. I know some are prejudiced against endeavours
of this kind, as if nothing could be said but what hath been said
already. For my part, I pretend to nothing novel, and though no other
things can be said, yet they may be more explained, and with more
liveliness of phrase and expression, every truth receiving some savour
from the vessel through which it passeth ; and yet I may speak it
without arrogance, some arguments thou wilt find improved for thy
further edification ; and therefore I suppose (though there be now
some glut) this book may crowd forth in the throng of comments. I
confess I have made use of those that have formerly written upon this
epistle, and upon others' instigation, that the work might be more
complete, more than I at first intended ; and yet (I hope) I cannot be
said to ' boast in another man's line of things made ready to our
hand/ 2 Cor. x. 16. For thy direction in this work, I do entreat thee
to compare the notes with the exposition, especially if thou dost at
any time stick at the genuineness of any point. Well, then, so often
repeated, is the usual note of the use or practical inference. If the
style seem too curt and abrupt, know that I sometimes reserved my
self for a sudden inculcation and enlargement. For the great contro
versy of justification, I have handled it as largely as the epistle would
give leave, and the state of the auditory would bear. Had I been
aware of some controversies grown since amongst us, I should have
said more ; yet, take it altogether, enough is said as to my sense, and
for vindicating this epistle. If some passages be again repeated, which
I suppose will seldom fall out, impute it to the multitude of my em
ployment. I never saw the work altogether, and my thoughts being
scattered to so many subjects throughout the week, I could not always
so distinctly remember what I had written. In short, if thou receivest
any benefit, return me but the relief of thy prayers for an increase of
abilities, and a faithful use of them to the Lord's glory, and I shall be
abundantly recompensed.

IIPOAETO'MENA,

OE,

A PREFACE WHEREIN, BESIDES AN EXPLICATION OF THE TITLE,

SEVERAL NECESSARY PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS

ARE HANDLED AND DISCUSSED.

I INTEND, by the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, in the weekly returns
of this lecture, to handle the Epistle of James. It is full of useful
and practical matter. I have the rather chosen this scripture that it
may be an allay to those comforts which, in another exercise, I have
endeavoured to draw out of the 53d of Isaiah. I would, at the
same time, carry on the doctrine both of faith and manners, and
show you your duties together with your encouragements, lest, with
Ephraim, you should only love to tread out the corn, and refuse to
break the clods, Hosea x. 11. We are all apt to divorce comfort from
duty, and to content ourselves with a ' barren and unfruitful know
ledge ' of Jesus Christ, 2 Peter i. 8 ; as if all that he required of the
world were only a few naked, cold, and inactive apprehensions of his
merit, and all things were so done for us, that nothing remained to
be done by us. This is the wretched conceit of many in the present
age, and therefore, either they abuse the sweetness of grace to loose
ness, or the power of it to laziness. Christ's merit and the Spirit's
efficacy are the commonplaces from whence they draw all the defences
and excuses of their own wantonness and idleness. It is true God
hath opened an excellent treasure in the church to defray the debts
of humble sinners, and to bear the expenses of the saints to heaven ;
but there is nothing allowed to wanton prodigals, who spend freely
and sin lavishly upon the mere account of the riches of grace ; as in
your charitable bequests, when you leave moneys in the way of a stock,
it is to encourage men in an honest calling, not to feed riot and excess.
Who ever left a sum for drunkards, or a stock to be employed in
dicing and gaming ? Again, I confess, whatever grace doth, it doth
freely ; we have ' grace for grace,' 1 John i. 16 ; that is, grace for
grace's sake. But there is a difference between merit and means ;
a schoolmaster may teach a child gratis, freely, and yet he must take
pains to get his learning. And there is a difference between causality

1 xapi" &vrl xctpiTos, id est, non pro ullo merito, sed ex me a bonitate, quod alibi dis-
tluctius.enunciat apostolus, xa/a^/tara /card TTJV X^/H". — Rom. xii. 6 (Grot, in locum).

A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE. 9

and order. Mercy is never obtained but in the use of means ; wisdom's
dole is dispensed at wisdom's gate, Prov. viii. 34. But the use of
means doth not oblige God to give mercy ; there are conditions which
only show the way of grace's working. Again, I grant that closing
with Christ is an excellent duty, and of the highest importance in
religion. But in Christ there are no dead and sapless branches ; faith
is not an idle grace ; wherever it is, it fructifieth in good works. To
evince all this to you, I have chosen to explain this epistle. The
apostle wrote it upon the same reason, to wit, to prevent or check
their misprisions who cried up naked apprehensions for faith, and a
barren profession for true religion. Such unrelenting lumps of sin
and lust were there even in the primitive times, gilded with the
specious name of Christians.

The epistle in our translation beareth title thus, THE EPISTLE
GENERAL OF JAMES ; in the Greek, 'la/cwftov rov airoa-roXov eV^o-ToA,?;
KaOokiK?) — the Catholic, or General Epistle of James the Apostle ;
for the clearing of which, before I enter upon the body of the epistle,
give me leave to premise these questions : —

1. Whether this epistle be of divine authority ?

2. Concerning the subordinate author or instrument, James, what

James this was ?

3. What was the time of writing it ?

4. The persons to whom it was written.

5. What is the occasion, matter, and scope of it ?

6. The reason of that term in the title, catholic or general.

I. Concerning the divine authority of this epistle, I desire to discuss
it with reverence and trembling. It is dangerous to loosen foundation
stones. I should wholly have omitted this part of my work, but that
the difference is so famous ; and to conceal known adversaries is an
argument of fear and distrust. The Lord grant that the cure be not
turned into a snare, and that vain men may not unsettle themselves
by what is intended for an establishment ! That which gave occasion
to doubt of this epistle was some passages in Jerome and Eusebius,
in which they seem, at least by reporting the sense of others, to infringe
the authority of it. I shall give you the passages, and then show you
what little reason there is why they should jostle James out of the canon.
The passage of Eusebius runneth thus : — Kal ra Kara TOV '
ov TI TTpcorrj rcov €Tri(rro\a>v rcov ovopa&aevwv Ka6d\iK&v eivai
laTeov &>5 voOeverai uev' ov TroAAot ryovv T&V TraXai avrfjs ef
0)9 ov$e Trjs \€<youevr}<; 'JoOSa, uia<? Kal avrfj^ ovcrr)<? rwv
KaOo\uca>v oyLt&)9 8 L(T/ji€v /cal ravTa? aera TWV \oiTTWv ev
€KK\r)(TLais, &c. j1 that is, ' And these things concerning James, whose
epistle that is reported to be, which is the first among the epistles
called universal ; 2 yet we are to understand that the same is not void
of suspicion, for many of the ancients make no mention thereof, nor of
Jude, being also one of the seven called universal ; yet notwithstanding
we know them to be publicly read in most churches : ' so far Eusebius.
The other passage of Jerome, 3 is this : — Jacobus unam tantum scripsit

1 Euseb., lib. ii. Hist. Eccles., c. 23.

2 So Dr Hamner rendereth that clause, lariw ptv us

3 Hieron. in Catal. Eccles. Script.

10 A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE.

epistolam, quce et ipsa ab olio quodam sub ejus nomine edita esse
asseritur, licet paullatim temper e procedente obtinuerit auctoritatem ;
that is, 'James wrote but one epistle, which is also said to be put forth
by another in his name, though by little and little in process of time
it gained authority in the church.' These are the clauses which first
begat a doubt of this epistle, but without reason— these two authors
reporting the sense of others rather than their own ; and if any part
of scripture should be laid aside because some have questioned it, the
devil would soon obtain his purpose. One time or another the greatest
part of it hath been impeached by men of a wicked and unsober wit,
who, when they could not pervert the rule to gratify their purposes,
reflected a scorn and contempt upon it. Now it would exceedingly
furnish the triumphs of hell if we should think their private cavils to be
warrant sufficient to weaken our faith, and besides disadvantage the
church by the loss of a most considerable part of the canon ; for the
case doth not only concern this epistle, but divers others, as the Second
of Peter, the Second and Third Epistles of John, the Book of the
Revelation, the last chapter of Mark, * some passages in the 22d of
Luke,2 the beginning of the 8th of John,3 some passages in the 5th
chapter of the First Epistle of John. Where would profaneness stay ?
and, if this liberty should be allowed, the flood of atheism stop its
course ? But, besides all this, why should a few private testimonies
prejudice the general consent of the church, which hath transmitted
this epistle to us, together with other parts of the New Testament ?
For if we go to external testimony, there is no reason but the greater
number should carry it. It were easy to instance in councils and
fathers, who by an unanimous suffrage have commended this epistle
to the faith and reverence of the church. Those canons which com
monly go under the name of the apostles 4 (though I build not much
upon that testimony) decreed it to be received for scripture ; so the
Council of Laodicea, can. 59 ; so of Mile vis, cap. 7 ; so the third
Council of Carthage, cap. 47 ; of Orange, cap. 25 ; Concilium Cabil-
onense, cap. 33 ; of Toledo, cap. 3. So for the consent of the most
ancient fathers, 5 by whom it is quoted as scripture, as by Ignatius,
Epist. ad Epliesios, &c. You may see Brochmand, in Prolog. Epist!
Jacob, and lodocus Coccius, his ' Thesaurus Theologicus/ torn, i., lib.
6, art. 23 ; read also Dr Rainold's ' De Libris Apocryphis,' torn, i.,
prselect. 4, &c. Out of all which you may see what authority it had
among the ancients. Of late, I confess, it hath found harder measure
Cajetan and Erasmus show little respect to it; Luther plainly rejecteth
it; and for the incivility and rudeness of his expression in callino- it
stramineam epistolam, as it cannot be denied, 6 so it is not to be
excused. Luther himself seemeth to retract it, speaking of it else-

1 See Hieron., Quest. 3, ad Hedibium et Euthymium.

2 Sextus Senensis Bibl. sanct., lib. i. c. 23, 24.

3 Hieron. adversus Pelag., lib. ii.

4 See Caranza, his Summa Conciliorum p 7

Hilt^r LimSelf differenceth i4 from those «»* are plainly spurious-lib, iii. Eccles

A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE. 11

where with more reverence : EJpistolam hanc, quamvis rejectam a veteri-
bus, pro utili tamen et non contemnenda habeo, vet ob hanc causam
quodnihil plane humance doctrince offerat, ut leg em Deifortiterurgeat;
verum ut meam de ilia sententiam candide promam extra prcejudi-
cium, existimo nullius esse apostoli (Luther Prsef. Epist. Jacob.) ; that
is, ' This epistle, though not owned by many of the ancients, I judge to
be full of profitable and precious matter, it offering no doctrine of a
human invention, strongly urging the law of God; yet, in my opinion
(which I would speak without prejudice), it seemeth not to be written
by any apostle ;' which was the error and failing of this holy and
eminent servant of God ; and therein he is followed by others of his
own profession, Osiander, Camerarius, Bugenhag, &c., and Althamerus,
whose blasphemies are recorded by Grotius in his ' Eivetian Apol.
Discuss./ p. 170, and by him unworthily urged to reflect a scorn upon
our churches. Concerning this Andreas Althamerus, see learned
Rivet's reply, in his SidXva-ts (Grot. Discuss., p. 480). However,
Luther is herein deserted by the modern Lutherans, who allow this
epistle in the canon, as is plain by the writings of Hunnius, Montrer,
Gerhard, Walther, &c. Brochmand, a learned Lutheran, and Bishop
of Zealand, in Denmark, hath written a worthy comment upon this
epistle, to whom (though I received him late, and when the work was
in a good progress) I have been beholden for some help in this exposi
tion, especially in the critical explication of some Greek words, and
most of the quotations out of the Socinian pamphlets, and for whom I
acknowledge myself indebted to the courtesy of that learned and
worthy gentleman, Colonel Edward Leigh, to whose faithfulness and
industry the church of God oweth so much.

The reasons which moved Luther to reject this epistle shall be
answered in their proper places. By his own testimony, cited before,
it containeth nothing repugnant to other scriptures, and it savoureth
of the genius of the gospel, as well as other writings of the apostles ;
and though he seemeth to make little mention of Christ and the
gospel, yet, if you consider it more thoroughly, you will find many
passages looking that way. The Epistle of Paul to Philemon hath
been hitherto reputed canonical, yet it treateth not of the merits and
death of Christ. I confess the style which the apostle useth is more
rousing, much of the epistle concerning the carnal Hebrews, as well
as those that had taken upon themselves the profession of Christ ; in
short, it hath a force upon the conscience, and is not only delivered by
the church, but sealed up to our use and comfort by the Holy Ghost,
as other scriptures are. It was written by an apostle, as other epistles
taken into the canon, as the inscription showeth, and there is no
reason why we should doubt of this title, more than of Paul's name
before his epistles. It is true there were some spurious writings that
carried the names of the apostles, as the ' Acts of Andrew,' the ' Liturgy
of St James,' the ' Canons of the Apostles,' ' Luke's History of the Acts
of Paul and Tecla,' « Mark's Life of Barnabas/ the ' Gospel of Paul ;'
but all these, by the just hand of God, had some mark of infamy im-

inis, imprimis quce ad Romanos, Galatas, EpJiesios scriptce sunt ; nee enim genium indol-
emque habet evangelicam. So in his Comment, on Genesis, in c. 22, he saith, Facessant
de media. adversaria, cum suo Jacobo, quern toties nobis objiciunt.

]2 A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE.

pressed upon them, by the enforcement of matters false or ridiculous,
or contrary to the truth of doctrine or history. But this epistle hath
nothing contrary to the truth of religion, nor unbeseeming the gravity
of it, and the majesty of other scriptures ; therefore, upon the whole,
we may pronounce that, it being represented to us with these advan
tages, it hath a just title to our respect and belief, and should be
received in the church with the same esteem and reverence which we
bear to other scriptures.

II. Secondly, Concerning the subordinate author, James, there is
some controversy about stating the right person, who he was. In the
general, it is certain he was an apostle, no epistles but theirs being
received into the rule of faith ; and it is no prejudice that he styleth
himself ' the servant of the Lord/ for so doth Paul often, as we shall
prove anon in the explication of the first verse. But now, among the
apostles there were two called by the name of James — James the son
of Zebedee, and James the son of Alpheus. Many of the ancients
indeed thought there were three of this name — Jacobus major, or of
Zebedee ; Jacobus minor, or of Alpheus ; arid James the brother of
the Lord, called also Chobliham,1 or Oblias, or James the Just, whom
they thought not to be an apostle, but Bishop of Jerusalem. Jerome
calleth him decimum tertium apostolum, the thirteenth apostle (in
Isai. lib. v. cap. 7). Dorotheas maketh him one of the seventy, the
first in his catalogue, but without reason. For indeed there were
but two Jameses,2 this N latter James being the same with him of
Alpheus ; for plainly the brother of the Lord is reckoned among the
apostles, Gal. i. 19 ; and called a pillar, Gal. ii. 9 ; and he is called
the ^brother of the Lord, because he was in that family to which
Christ was numbered. Some suppose his mother's sister's son, the son
of Mary of Cleophas, who was sister to the Virgin. Now, Cleophas and
Alpheus is all one, as a learned author supposeth,3 though Junius
contradicteth it (in Epist. Judge, sub initio) ; and Kabanus saith, after
the death of Alpheus, she married Cleophas. But however it be, this
James is the same, which is enough for our purpose. Well, then, there
being two, to which of these is the epistle to be ascribed ? The whole
stream of antiquity carrieth it for the brother of the Lord, who, as I
said, is the same with Jacobus minor, or the son of Alpheus ; and
with good reason, the son of Zebedee being long before beheaded by
Herod, from the very beginning of the preaching of the gospel, Acts
xu. 2. But this epistle must needs be of a later date, as alluding to
some passages already written, and noting the degeneration of the
church which was not so very presently. There are some few indeed
of another judgment, as Flavius Dexter, Julius Toletanus, Didacus
Itozor, and others cited by Eusebius Neirembergius,4 a Spanish Jesuit,
who also brmgeth the authority of an ancient Gottish missal to this

; by Epiphanius,

Eusebius Neirembe^giu^de^rig^e sTcra^crip'ture, lib. xi. cap. 15-19,

A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE. 13

purpose, together with reasons to prove this to be the first New Testa
ment scripture that was written, and all to devolve the honour of the
epistle upon the Spanish saint, Jacohus major ; which yet is contrary
to the decree of the Trent Council, which ascribeth it to James the
brother of the Lord. Well, then, James the Less is the person whom
we have found to be the instrument which the Spirit of God made use
of to convey this treasure to the church. Much may be said of him,
but I shall contract all into a brief sum. He was by his private
calling an husbandman,1 by public office in the church an apostle,
and especially called to the inspection of the church in and about
Jerusalem, either because of his eminency and near relation to Christ,
or for the great esteem he had gained among the Jews ; and therefore,
when the other apostles were going to and fro disseminating the word
of life, James is often found at Jerusalem. (See Gal. i. 18, 19 ; Acts i.
14, 21 ; and xv. &c.) For his temper, he was of an exact strictness,
exceeding just ; and therefore called Oblias, and James the Just ; yea,
so just, that Josephus maketh the violence offered to him to be one of
the causes of the Jewish ruin. (Joseph. Antiq., lib. xx. cap. 16.) Of
so great temperance, that he drank neither wine nor strong drink, and
ate no flesh. So pious, that his knees were made like a camel's hoof
by frequent prayer. His death happened six years before that of
Peter, thirty- eight years before that of John, in the sixty-third year
of Christ, if chronology be true. He died a martyr ; they would have
him persuade the people to abandon the doctrine of Christ, which,
when he refused, and pressed the quite contrary, he was thrown down
from a pinnacle of the temple, and his brains dashed out with a
fuller's club, and so gave up the ghost. See these things set forth at
large by Eusebius, lib. ii. cap. 23, et ibi citatos.

III. Thirdly, For the time when this epistle was wrritten, it cannot
be exactly stated. It is placed first among the catholic epistles, either
as first written, or first received into the canon, though in the ranking
of it there be a variety. In the Greek Bibles it sustaineth the same
place which we assign to it. Some think the Epistle of Peter was first
written ; but in so great an uncertainty who can determine anything ?
Certain we are, that it was written after the heresies were somewhat
grown, and before Jerusalem drew to its end ; for what St James
threateneth, St Paul taketh notice of as accomplished, 1 Thes. ii. 16.
Speaking of the people of the Jews, he saith, ' Wrath is come upon
them, et? TO reXo?, to the uttermost ;' which is denounced in chap. v. of
our apostle. The critical reader, that would know more of the time
and order of this epistle, I refer to Eusebius Neirembergiue, lib. xi.
De Origine Sacrse Scripturge, cap. 15.

IV. Fourthly, The persons to whom he wrote are specified in the
first verse ' To the twelve tribes/ &c., which we shall explain anon ;
let it suffice for the present, that he writeth chiefly to those among
them that were gained to the faith of Christ, though there be many
passages interspersed which do concern the unbelieving Jews. See
chap. v. 1, and the reasons there alleged in the exposition.

V. Fifthly, For the occasion, matter, and scope, you may take it

1 Clemens, lib. ii. Constit. Apostol., cap. 63.

14 A PREFACE TO THE WHOLE EPISTLE.

thus : Certainly one great occasion was that which Austin 1 taketh
notice of, to wit, the growth of that opinion in the apostles' days, that
a bare, naked faith was enough to salvation, though good works were
neglected. It is clear that some such thing was cried up by the school
of Simon. Now, Samaria being nigh to Jerusalem, our apostle, whose
inspection was mostly confined to those churches, might rather than
others take notice of it. But this concerneth but a part of the epistle ;
the more general occasion was the great degeneration of faith and
manners, and the growth of libertine doctrines, as about God's being
the author of sin, the sufficiency of empty faith, and naked profession,
&c. When the world was newly ploughed and sowed with the gospel,
these tares came up together with the good corn. As also to comfort
God's children against the violence of the persecutions then exercised
upon them, and to awaken the men of his own nation out of their
stupid security, judgments being even at the door, and they altogether
senseless ; therefore the whole epistle is fraught with excellent in
structions how to bear afflictions, to hear the word, to mortify vile
affections, to bridle the tongue, to conceive rightly of the nature of
God, to adorn our profession with a good conversation, with meekness,
and peace, and charity ; finally, how to behave ourselves in the time of
approaching misery. All these, and many other doctrines, are scat
tered throughout the epistle, so that you may see it is exceeding useful
for these times.

VI. Sixthly, Concerning the title catholic or general epistle, which
is the title given all the seven latter epistles ; I answer, in some copies
it is KavovL/crj, canonical ; but probably that is an error. Why then
catholic ? Many reasons are given. (Ecumenius, and out of him
Beza, thinketh it is because they were not inscribed to any particular
nation or city, as Paul's are to Kome, Corinth, &c. But this hokleth
not in all, some of John's being dedicated to private persons, to Gaius
and the Elect Lady; and then there must be more than seven, that to
the Hebrews being directed to the same persons to which Peter and
James wrote theirs. Some say, because they contain universal doctrine,
or the public treasure of the universal church ; but that would seem
to derogate from the other epistles, and to prefer these before them.
Pareus thinketh they were merely called so by an inconsiderate cus
tom ; but most probably the reason is to vindicate their authenticity,
and to distinguish them from the epistles of Barnabas, Ignatius,
Clemens, and Polycarp, which, though ancient, never made up any
part of the rule of faith, and so not derogate from the other epistles,2
but to join these to them. These things premised, I come, by God's
assistance, to handle the epistle itself.

' Excitata fuit tempers apostolorum opinio, sufficere solam fidem ad salutem obti-
nendam, si vel maxime bona opera negligerentur, contra quam opinionem Apostolicse
Epistolae Petri, Johannis, Jacobi, Judse, maxime dirigunt intentionem, ut vehementer
adstruant fidem. sine operibus nihil prodesse.' — Aug. Lib. de fide et Operibus.

• ' Ecclesia vetus has epistolas canonicas et catholicas appellavit, non ut aliis quidquam
adimeret, sed ut has illis contra nonuullorum seuteatias adjungeret.' — Junius in Judam,
p. 10.

AN EXPOSITION WITH NOTES

UPON THE

EPISTLE OF JAMES.

CHAPTEK I.

James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the tivelve
tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. — JAMES I. 1.

JAMES, there were two of this name, the son of Zebedee, and the
son of Alpheus ; the latter is the author of this epistle, as in the pre
fatory discourse on the title more fully appeareth.

A servant of God. — The word SoOXo? is sometimes put to imply an
abject and vile condition, as that of a slave or bondman ; so the apostle
Paul, when he saith, Gal. iii. 28, ' bond or free are all one in Christ,'
for bond he useth the word $ov\os ; and this great apostle thinketh
it an honour to be SoOXo?, the servant of God. The lowest ministry
and office about God is honourable.

But why not apostle ? Grotius supposeth the reason to be because
neither James the son of Zebedee, nor James of Alpheus, was the
author of this epistle, but some third James ; not an apostle, but
president of the presbytery at Jerusalem ; but that we have disproved
in the preface. I answer, therefore : He mentioneth not his apostle-
ship — 1. Because there was no need, he being eminent in the opinion
and repute of the churches ; therefore Paul saith, he was accounted a
pillar and main column of the Christian faith, Gal. ii. 9. Paul,
whose apostleship was enviously questioned, avoucheth it often. 2.
Paul himself doth not in every epistle call himself an apostle. Some
times his style is, * Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ,' Philem. 1 ;
sometimes, ' Paul, a servant of Christ,' Phil. i. 1 ; sometimes nothing
but his name Paul is prefixed, as in 1 Thes. i. 1 , and 2 Thes. i. 1.

It followeth, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some take both these
clauses in a conjoined sense, as applied to the same person, and read
it thus : A servant of Jesus Christ who is God and Lord ; as indeed
this was one of the places urged by the Greek fathers for the God
head of Christ against the Arians. But our reading, which dis-
joineth the clauses, is to be preferred, as being least strained, and

1(3 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 1.

more suitable to the apostolic inscriptions ; neither is the dignity of
Christ hereby impaired, he being proposed as an object of equal
honour with the Father ; and as the Father is Lord, as well as Jesus
Christ, so Jesus Christ is God as well as the Father. Well, then,
James is not only God's servant by the right of creation and pro
vidence, but Christ's servant by the right of redemption ; yea, espe
cially deputed by Christ as Lord, that is, as mediator and head of the
church, to do him service in the way of an apostle ; and I suppose
there is some special reason of this disjunction, 'a servant of God
and of Christ,' to show his countrymen that, in serving Christ, he
served the God of his fathers, as Paul pleaded, Acts xxvi. 6, 7, that,
in standing for Christ, he did but stand for * the hope of the promise
made unto the fathers, unto which promise the twelve tribes, serving
God day and night, hope to come/

It followeth in the text, to the twelve tribes; that is, to the Jews
and people of Israel, chiefly those converted to the faith of Christ ;
to these James writeth, as the ' minister of the circumcision/ Gal.
ii. 9. And he writeth not in Hebrew, their own tongue, but in
Greek, as being the language then most in use, as the apostle Paul
writeth to the Eomans in the same tongue, and not in the Latin.

Which are scattered abroad ; in the original, rat? ev ry Siao-Tropa,
to those which are in or of the dispersion. But what scattering or
dispersion is here intended ? I answer, (1.) Either that which was
occasioned by their ancient captivities, and the frequent changes of
nations, for so there were some Jews that still lived abroad, supposed
to be intended in that expression, John vii. 35, * Will he go to the
dispersed among the Gentiles ? ' Or (2.) More lately by the persecu
tion spoken of in the 8th of the Acts. Or (3.) By the hatred of
Claudius, who commanded all the Jews to depart from Eome, Acts
xviii. 2. And it is probable that the like was done in other great
cities. The Jews, and amongst them the Christians, being every
where cast out, as John out of Ephesos, and others out of Alexandria.
Or (4.) Some voluntary dispersion, the Hebrews living here and there
among the Gentiles a little before the declension and ruin of their
state, some in Cilicia, some in Pontus, &c. Thus the apostle Peter
writeth, 1 Peter i. 1, ' To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia/

Xalpetv, greeting. — An usual salutation, but not so frequent in
scripture. Cajetan thinketh it profane and paganish, and therefore
questipneth the epistle, but unworthily. We find the same salutation
sometimes used in holy writ, as to the Virgin Mary, Luke i. 28 :
%atpe (the same word that is used here), ' Hail, thou that art highly
favoured.^ So Acts xv. 23 : ' The apostles, and elders, and brethren,
send (xalpew) greeting to the brethren which are of the Gentiles/
Usually it is ' grace, mercy, and peace/ but sometimes ' greeting/

Observations out of this verse are these : —

^ Obs. 1. From that, James a servant of God, he was Christ's near
kinsman according to the flesh, and, therefore, by a Hebraism called
1 The brother of the Lord/ Gal. i. 19, not properly and strictly, as
Joseph's son, which yet was the opinion of some of the ancients l by a

1 Eusebius Epiphanius, Gregory Nissen, and others.

JAS. I. 1.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 17

former marriage, but his cousin. Well, then, ' James, the Lord's
kinsman,' calleth himself ' the Lord's servant : ' the note is, that
inward privileges are the best and most honourable, and spiritual
kin is to be preferred before carnal. Mary was happier, gestando
Christum corde quam utero — in having Christ in her heart rather
than her womb; and James in being Christ's servant, than his
brother. Hear Christ himself speaking to this point, Mat. xii.
47-49 : 'When one told him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren
stand without desiring to speak with thee/ Christ answered. ' Who is
my mother, and who are my brethren ? And he stretched forth his
hand to his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren ;
for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the
same is my brother, sister, and mother/ The truest relation to
Christ is founded in grace, and we are far happier in receiving him
by faith, than in touching him by blood ; and he that endeavours to
do his will may be as sure of Christ's love and esteem, as if he were
linked to him by the nearest outward relations.

Obs. 2. It is no dishonour to the highest to be Christ's servant.
James, whom Paul calleth ' a pillar/ calleth himself ' a servant of
Christ ;' and David, a king, saith, Ps. Ixxxiv. 10, ' I had rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of
wickedness/ The office of the Nethinims, or doorkeepers in the
temple, was the lowest ; and therefore, when the question was pro
posed what they should do with the Levites that had warped from
God to idols, God saith, ' They shall bear their iniquity ; ' that is,
they shall be degraded, and employed in the lowest offices and minis
tries of the temple, which was to be porters and doorkeepers (see
Ezek. xliv. 10-13) : yet saith David, ' I had rather be a doorkeeper ; '
carnal honour and greatness is nothing to this. Paul was ' an Heb
rew of the Hebrews/ Phil. iii. 5 ; that is, of an ancient Hebrew race
and extraction, there being, to the memory of man, no proselyte in
his family or among his ancestors, which was accounted a very
great honour by that nation ; yet, saith Paul, I count all o-Kvj3a\.a,
dung and dog's meat, in comparison of an interest in Christ, Phil. iii. 8.

Obs. 3. The highest in repute and office in the church yet are still
but servants: ' James, a servant ; ' 2 Cor. iv. 1, ' Let a man account
of us as of ministers of Christ/ The sin of Corinth was man-wor
ship, in giving an excess of honour and respect to those teachers
whom they admired, setting them up as heads of factions, and giving
up their faith to their dictates. The apostle seeketh to reclaim them
from that error, by showing that they are not masters, but ministers :
give them the honour of a minister and steward, but not that
dependence which is due to the master only. See 2 Cor. i. 24: 'We
have not dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy/ We
are not to prescribe articles of faith, but explain them. So the apostle
Peter bids the elders not to behave themselves as 'lords over God's
heritage/ 1 Peter v. 3 ; not to master it over their consciences. Our
work is mere service, and we can but persuade ; Christ must impose
upon the conscience. It is Christ's own advice to his disciples in
Mat. xxiii. 10 : ' Be not ye called masters, for one is your master, even
Christ/ All the authority and success of our' teaching is from our

VOL. IV. B

AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 1.

servant of Go, an o esus firw.—n a services we
r the Father, and the Son also : John v. 23, ' God will
honour the Son as they honour the Father ;' that is, God
oured and worshied only in Christ: John xiv. 1, 'Ye

Lord We can prescribe nothing as necessary to be believed or
done which is not according to his will or word. In short, we come
not in our own name, and must not act with respect to our own ends ;
we are servants.

Obs 4 A servant of God, and of Jesus Cfirwt.—In all services we

must honour

have all to

will be honoured and worshipped

believe in God, believe also in me.' Believing is the highest worship

and respect of the creature ; you must give it to the Son, to the second

person as mediator, as well as to the Father. Do duties so as you

may honour Christ in them ; and so—

First, Look for their acceptance in Christ. Oh ! it would be sad if
we were only to look to God the Father in duties. Adam hid himself,
and durst not come into the presence of God, till the promise of Christ.
The hypocrites cried, Isa. xxxiii. 14, ' Who shall dwell with consum
ing fire?' Guilt can form no other thought of God by looking upon
him out of Christ ; we can see nothing but majesty armed with wrath
and power. But now it is said, Eph. iii. 12, that ' in Christ we have
access with boldness and confidence ;' for in him those attributes,
which are in themselves terrible, become sweet and comfortable ; as
water, which is salt in the ocean, being strained through the earth,
becometh sweet in the rivers ; that in God which, out of Christ, strik-
eth terror into the soul, in Christ begets a confidence.

Secondly, Look for your assistance from him. You serve God in Christ :
— [1.] When you serve God through Christ : Phil. iv. 13, ' I can do all
things, through Christ that strengtheneth me/ When your own hands
are in God's work, your eyes must be to Christ's hands for support
in it : Ps. cxxiii. 2, ' As the eyes of servants look to the hands
of their masters/ &c. ; you must go about God's work with his own
tools.

[2.] When ye have an eye to the concernments of Jesus Christ
in all your service of God, 2 Cor. v. 15. We must ' live to him that
died for us ;' not only to God in general, but to him, to God that died
for us. You must see how you advance his kingdom, propagate his
truth, further the glory of Christ as mediator.

[3.] When all is done for Christ's sake. In Christ God hath
niievf claim in you, and ye are bought with his blood, that ye may be
his servants. Under the law the great argument to obedience was God's
sovereignty : Thus and thus ye shall do, ' I am the Lord ;' as in Lev.
xix. 37, and other places. Now the argument is gratitude, God's
love, God's love in Christ : ' The love of Christ constraineth us/ 2 Cor.
v. 14. The apostle often persuades by that motive — Be God's servants
for Christ's sake.

Obs. 5. To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. — God
looks after his afflicted servants : he moveth James to write to the
scattered tribes : the care of heaven flourisheth towards you when
you wither. A man would have thought these had been driven away
from God's care, when they had been driven away from the sanctuary.
Thus saith the Lord, though I have cast them far off
among the heathen, and have scattered them among the countries,

JAS. I. 1.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES, 19

yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the places where they
come/ Though they wanted the temple, yet God would be a little
sanctuary. He looks after them, to watch their spirits, that he may
apply seasonable comforts ; and to watch their adversaries, to prevent
them with seasonable providences. He looketh after them to watch
the seasons of deliverance, ' that he may gather her that was driven
out/ Micah iv. 6, and make up ' his jewels/ Mai. iii. 17, that seemed
to be carelessly scattered and lost.

Obs. 6. God's own people may be dispersed, and driven from their
countries and habitations. God hath his outcasts : he saith to Moab,
' Pity my outcasts/ Isa. xvi. 4. And the church complains, ' Our in
heritance is turned to strangers/ Lam. v. 2. Christ himself had not
where to lay his head ; and the apostle tells us of some ' of whom the
world was not worthy/ that ' they wandered in deserts, and mountains,
and woods, and caves/ Mark, they -wandered in the woods (it is
Chrysostom's note),aX\a K.CLI eicel 6We? efavyov — ! the retirement and
privacy of the wilderness did not yield them a quiet and safe abode.
So in Acts viii. 4, we read of the primitive believers, that ' they were
scattered abroad everywhere/ Many of the children of God in these
times have been driven from their dwellings ; but you see we have no
reason to think the case strange.

Obs. 7. To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. — There
was something more in their scattering than ordinary : they were a
people whom God for a long time had kept together under the wings
of providence. That which is notable in their scattering is :—

1. The severity of God's justice; the twelve tribes are scattered —
his own people. It is ill resting on any privileges, when God's Israel
may be made strangers. Israel was all for liberty ; therefore God
saith, ' I will feed them as a lamb in a large place,' Hosea iv. 16. God
would give them liberty and room enough. As a lamb out of the fold
goeth up and down bleating in the forest or wilderness, without com
fort and companion, in the midst of wolves and the beasts of the desert —
liberty enough, but danger enough ! — so God would cast them out of
the fold, and they should live a Jew here and a Jew there, thinly
scattered and dispersed throughout the countries, among a people
whose language they understood not, and as a lamb in the midst of
the beasts of prey. Oh! consider the severity of God's justice; cer
tainly it is a great sin that maketh a loving father cast a child out of
doors. Sin is always driving away arid casting out ; it drove the
angels out of heaven, Adam out of paradise, and Cain out of the
church, Gen. iv. 12, 16, and the children of God out of their dwellings:
Jer. ix. 19, ' Our dwellings have cast us out/ Your houses will
be weary of you when you dishonour God in them, and you will be
driven from those comforts which you abuse to excess ; riot doth but
make way for rapine. You shall see in the 6th of Amos, when they
were at ease in Sion, they would prostitute David's music to their
sportiveness and common banquets: Amos vi. 5, ' They invent to them
selves instruments of music like David/ But for this God threateneth
to scatter them, and to remove them from their houses of luxury
and pleasure. And when they were driven to the land of a stranger,

x Chrysostom in Heb. xi.

20 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 1.

they were served in their own kind; the Babylonians would have
temple-music : Ps. cxxxvii. 3, ' Now let us have one of your
Hebrew songs:' nothing but a holy song would serve their profane
sport. And so in all such like cases, when we are weary of God in
our houses and families, our houses are weary of us. David's house was
out of order, and then he was forced to fly from it, 2 Sam. xv. Oh !
then, when you walk in the midst of your comforts, your stately
dwellings and houses of pomp and pleasure, be not of Nebuchadnez
zar's spirit, when he walked in the palace of Babylon, and said, Dan.
iv. 30, 'Is not this great Babel, which I have built ? '—pride grew
upon him by the sight of his comforts ; not of the spirit of those Jews
who, when they dwelt within ceiled houses, cried, ' The time to build
the Lord's house is not come/ Hag. i. 1,2. They were well, and at
ease, and therefore neglected God ;— but of David's spirit, who, when
he went into his stately palace, serious thoughts and purposes of
honouring God arose within his spirit : 2 Sam. vii. 2, ' Shall I dwell
in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwell within curtains?'
Observe the different workings of their spirits. Nebuchadnezzar, walk
ing in his palace, groweth proud: ' Is not this great Babel, which I
have built ? ' The Jews, in their ceiled houses, grow careless : ' The
time to build the Lord's house is not come/ David, in his curious
house of cedar, groweth religious : What have I done for the ark of
God, who hath done so much for me? Well, then, honour God in
your houses, lest you become the burdens of them, and they spue you
out. The twelve tribes were scattered.

2. The infallibility of his truth ; they were punished ' as their con
gregation had heard;' as the prophet speaketh, Hosea vii. 11, 12. In
judicial dispensations, it is good to observe not only God's justice, but
God's truth. No calamity befell Israel but what was in the letter
foretold in the books of Moses ; a man might have written their
history out of the threatenings of the law. See Lev. xxvi. 33 : ' If
ye walk contrary unto me, I will scatter you among the heathens, and
will draw a sword after you.' The like is threatened in Deut. xxviii.
64 : ' And the Lord shall scatter you from one end of the earth unto
another among all the people/ And you see how suitable the event was
to the prophecy ; and therefore I conceive James useth this expression
of ' the twelve tribes,' when that distinction was antiquated, and the
tribes much confounded, to show that they, who were once twelve
flourishing tribes, were now, by the accomplishment of that prophecy,
sadly scattered and mingled among the nations.

3. The tenderness of his love to the believers among them ; he hath
a James for the Christians of the scattered tribes, In the severest
ways of jiis justice he doth not forget his own, and he hath special
consolations for them when they lie under the common judgment.
When other Jews were banished, John, amongst the rest, was banished
out of Ephesus into Patmos, a barren, miserable rock or island ; but
there he had those high revelations, Kev. i. 9. Well, then, wherever
you are, you are near to God ; he is a God at hand, and a God afar
off :^ when you lose your dwelling, you do not lose your interest in
Christ ; and you are everywhere at home, but there where you are
strangers to God.

JAS. I. 2.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 21

Yer. 2. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temp
tations.

My brethren. — A usual compellation in the scriptures, and very
frequent in this epistle, partly because of the manner of the Jews, who
were wont to call all of their nation brethren, and partly because of
the manner of the ancient Christians,1 who in courtesy used to call
the men and women of their society and communion brothers and
sisters ; partly out of apostolical kindness, and that the exhortation
might be seasoned with the more love and good-will.

Count it ; that is, though sense will not find it so, yet in spiritual
judgment you must so esteem it.

All joy ; that is, matter of chief joy. Tlacrav, all is thus used in
the writings of the apostles, as in 1 Tim. i. 15, Trao-^? aTroSo^?}? af^o?,
' worthy of all acceptation,' that is, of chief acceptation.

When ye fall, orav irepiTrearj're. — The word signifies such troubles
as come upon us unawares, as sudden things do most discompose the
mind. But however, says the apostle, ' when ye fall/ and are suddenly
circumvented, yet you must look upon it as a trial and matter of great
joy ; for though it seemeth a chance to us, yet it falleth under the
ordination of God.

Divers. — The Jewish nation was infamous, and generally hated,
especially the Christian Jews, who, besides the scorn of the heathen,
were exercised with sundry injuries, rapines, and spoils from their
own brethren, and people of their own nation, as appeareth by the-
Epistle of Peter, who wrote to the same persons that our apostle doth ;
and also speaketh of ' divers or manifold temptations/ 1 Peter i. 6.
And again by the Epistle to the Hebrews, written also to these dis
persed tribes : see Heb. x. 34, ' Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your
goods/ that is, by the fury of the multitude and base people, against
whom the Christians could have no right.

Temptations. — So he calleth afflictions, which to believers are of that
use and habitude.

The observations are : —

Obs. 1. My brethren. — Christians are linked to one another in the
bond of brotherhood. It was an ancient use, as I showed before, for
Christians of the same communion to call one another brothers and
sisters, which gave occasion of scorn to the heathen then. Quod fratres
nos vocamus, infamant, saith Tertullian ; and it is still made matter
of reproach : what scoff more usual than that of holy brethren ? If
we will not keep up the title, yet the affection which becomes the re
lation should not cease. The term hinteth duty to all sorts of Chris
tians ; meekness to those that excel in gifts or office, that they may
be not stately and disdainful to the meanest in the body of Christ — it
is Christ's own argument, ' Ye are brethren/ Mat. xxiii. 8 : and it
also suggesteth love, and mutual amity. Who should love more than
those that are united in the same head and hope ? Eodem sanguine
Christi glutinati, as Augustine said of himself and his friend Alipius ;
that is, cemented with the same blood of Christ. We are all travel
ling homeward, and expect to meet in the same heaven : it would be

i See Tertul. in Apol. cap. 39, Justin Mart, in fine Apol. 2, and Clement. Alexand.
lib. v. Stromat.

22 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 2.

sad that brethren should ' fall out by the way,' Gen. xlv. 24. It was
once said Aspice, ut se mutuo diligunt Christiani !—$ee how the
Christians love one another ! (Tertul. in Apol. cap. 39.) But alas !
now we may say, See how they hate one another !

Obs. 2. From that count it, miseries are sweet or bitter according
as we will reckon of them. Seneca said, Levis est dolor si nihil opinio
adjecerit—our grief lieth in our own opinion and apprehension of
miseries. Spiritual things are worthy in themselves, other things
depend upon our opinion and valuation of them. Well, then, it stand-
eth us much upon to make a right judgment ; therein lieth our misery
or comfort ; things are according as you will count them. That your
judgments may be rectified in point of afflictions, take these rules.

1. Do not judge by sense : Heb. xii. 11, ' No affliction for the pre
sent seemeth joyous, but grievous,' &c. Theophylact observeth,1 that
in this passage two words are emphatical, TT/OO? TO Trapbv and &o/cei,for
the present and seemeth ; for the present noteth the feeling and expe
rience of sense, and seemeth the apprehension and dictate of it : sense
can feel no joy in it, and sense will suggest nothing but bitterness and
sorrow ; but we are not to go by that count and reckoning. A Chris
tian liveth above the world, because he doth not judge according to
the world. Paul's scorn of all sublunary accidents arose from his
spiritual judgment concerning them : Bom. viii. 18, ' I reckon that
the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared
with the joys that shall be revealed in us/ Sense, that is altogether
for present things, would judge quite otherwise ; but saith the apostle,
' I reckon/ i.e., reason by another manner of rule and account : so
Heb. xi. 26, it is said, that ' Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ
better than the treasures of Egypt : ' his choice, you see, was founded
in his judgment and esteem.

2. Judge by a supernatural light. Christ's eye-salve must clear
your sight, or else you cannot make a right judgment : there is no
proper and fit apprehension of things till you get within the veil, and
see by the light of a sanctuary lamp: 1 Cor. ii. 11, ' The things of
God knoweth no man, but by the Spirit of God/ He had said before,
ver. 9, ' Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard/ &c. ; i.e., natural senses
do not perceive the worth and price of spiritual privileges ; for I sup
pose the apostle speaketh not there of the incapacity of our under
standings to conceive of heavenly joys, but of the unsuitableness of
spiritual objects to carnal senses. A man that hath no other light
but reason and nature, cannot judge of those things ; God's riddles
are only open to those that plough with God's heifer : and it is by
God's Spirit that we come to discern and esteem the things that are
of God ; which is the main drift of the apostle in that chapter. So
David, Ps. xxxvi. 9, ' In thy light we shall see light ; ' that is, by his
Spirit we come to discern the brightness of glory or grace, and the
nothingness of the world.

3. Judge by supernatural grounds. Many times common grounds
may help us to discern the lightness of our grief, yea, carnal grounds ;
your counting must be an holy counting. Those in the prophet said,

- 'The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stones/ Isa. ix.

1 Theoph. in loc.

.

JAS. I. 2.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 23

10. It is a misery, but we know how to remedy it ; so many despise
their troubles : we can repair and make up this loss again, or know
how to deal well enough with this misery. All this is not ' a right
judgment/ but ' vain thoughts ; ' so the prophet calleth their carnal
debates and reasonings : Jer. iv. 14, 'How long shall vain thoughts
lodge within thee ? ' that is, carnal shifts and contrivances, by which
they despised the judgment, rather than improved it. True judging
and counting always lolloweth some spiritual discourse and reasoning,
and is the result of some principle of faith or patience ; as thus, it is a
misery, but God will turn it to our good. God's corrections are sharp,
but we have strong corruptions to be mortified ; we are called to great
trials, but we may reckon upon great hopes, &c.

Obs. 3. From that all joy ; afflictions to God's people do not only
minister occasion of patience, but great joy. The world hath no reason
to think religion a black and gloomy way : as the apostle saith, ' The
weakness of Christ is stronger than the strength of men/ 1 Cor. i. 25 ;
so grace's worst is better than the world's best ; ' all joy/ when in
divers trials ! A Christian is a bird that can sing in winter as well
as in spring ; he can live in the fire like Moses's bush ; burn, and not
be consumed ; nay, leap in the fire. The counsel of the text is not a
paradox, fitted only for notion and discourse, or some strain and reach
of fancy ; but an observation, built upon a common and known expe
rience: this is the fashion and manner of believers, to rejoice in their
trials. Thus Heb. x. 34, ' Ye took the spoiling of your goods joy
fully ; ' in the midst of rifling and plundering, and the incivilities of
rude and violent men, they were joyful and cheerful. The apostle
goeth one step higher : 2 Cor. vii. 4, ' I am exceeding joyful in all our
tribulation/ Mark that virepTrepLora-evo^ai rfj %apa, I superabound
or overflow in joy. Certainly a dejected spirit liveth much beneath the
height of Christian privileges and principles. Paul in his worst estate
felt an exuberancy of joy : ' I am exceeding joyful ; ' nay, you shall see
in another place he went higher yet : Rom. v. 3, ' We glory in tribula
tions/ fcavxco/jLeOa ; it noteth the highest joy — joy with a boasting and
exultation ; such a ravishment as cannot be compressed. Certainly a
Christian is the world's wonder, and there is nothing in their lives but
what men will count strange ; their whole course is a riddle, which
the multitude understandeth not, 2 Cor. vi. 10: 'As sorrowful, yet
always rejoicing;' it is Paul's riddle, and may be every Christian's
motto and symbol.

Object. 1. But you will say, Doth not the scripture allow us a sense
of our condition ? How can we rejoice in that which is evil ? Christ's
soul was ' heavy unto death.'

Solut. I answer — 1. Not barely in the evil of them ; that is so far
from being a fruit of grace, that it is against nature : there is a
natural abhorrency of that which is painful, as we see in Christ him
self : John xii. 27, ' My soul is troubled ; what shall I say ? Father,
save me from this hour/ &c. As a private person, Christ would
manifest the same affections that are in us, though as mediator, he
freely chose death and sufferings ; the mere evil is grievous. Besides,
in the sufferings of Christ there was a concurrence of our guilt taken
into his own person and of God's wrath ; and it is a known rule,

24 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 2.

Ccelestis ira quos premit miseros facit, Jiumana nullos. No adversary
but God can make us miserable ; and it is his wrath that putteth a
vinegar and gall into our sufferings, not man's.

2. Their joy is from the happy effects, or consequents, or comforts,
occasioned by their sufferings. I will name some.

[1.1 The honour done to us ; that we are singled out to bear wit
ness to the truths of Christ: ' To you it is given to suffer,' Phil. i. 29.
It is a gift and an act of free-grace : to be called to such special ser
vice is an act of God's special favour, and so far from being a matter
of discouragement, that it is a ground of thanksgiving: 1 Peter
iv. 16, 'If any man surfer as a Christian, let him glorify God^in this
behalf : ' not accuse God by murmuring thoughts, but glorify him.
This consideration had an influence upon the primitive saints and
martyrs. It is said, Acts v. 41, that 'they went away rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ : ' in the original, on
/carrj^icodrja-av aTificurOrjvai,, that they were honoured to be dishonoured
for Christ. It is a great dignity and honour put upon us to be drawn
out before angels and men as champions for God and his truth ; and
this will warrant our joy. So Christ himself: Mat. v. 12, 'When
men say all manner of evil against you falsely, and for my name's
sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad/ Luke hath it, ' Rejoice, and
leap for joy/ Luke vi. 23 ; which noteth such exsiliency of affection
as is stirred up by some sudden and great comfort.

[2.] The benefit the church receiveth. Resolute defences gain upon
the world. The church is like an oak, which liveth by its own
wounds, and the more limbs are cut off, the more new sprouts.1 Ter-
tulliansaith, The heathen's cruelty was the great bait and motive by
which men were drawn into the Christian religion ; 2 and Austin 3
reckoneth up all the methods of destruction by which the heathen
sought to suppress the growth of Christianity, but still it grew the
more; they were bound, butchered, racked, stoned, burned, but still
they were multiplied. The church was at first founded in blood, and it
thriveth best when it is moistened with blood ; founded in the blood
of Christ, and moistened or watered, as it were, with the blood of the
martyrs. Well, then, they may rejoice in this, that religion is more
propagated, and that their own death and sufferings do any way con
tribute to the life and nourishing of the church.

[3.] Their own private and particular comforts. God hath consola
tions proper for martyrs, and his children under trials.4 Let me
name a few. Sometimes it is a greater presence of the word : 1 Thes.
i. 6, * Ye received the word with much affliction, and joy in the
Holy Ghost/ Great affliction ! but the gospel will counterpoise all.
Usually it is a clear evidence and sight of their gracious estate. The
sun shineth many times when it raineth ; and they have sweet glimpses

' 1ef.Lv6y.evov 0dAAei Kal rep viS-ripy avrdyuvifcTai.' — Naz. in. Orat.

2 'Exquisitior quaeque crudelitas vestra illecebra est; magis sectse, plures efficimur, quo-
ties metimur a vobis,' &c. — TertuL in Apol.

3 ' Ligabantur, includebantur, caedebantur, torquebantur, urebantur, laniabautur, tru-
cidabantur et tamen multiplicabantur.'— Aug. lib. xxii. de Civit. Dei, c. 6.

4_ Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, being asked how he could endure his long and
tedious imprisonment, ' Professus est se divinas martyrum consolationes semisse.' —
Manhus.

JAS. I. 2.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 25

of God's favour when their outward condition is most gloomy and sad :
'When men revile you, and persecute you, rejoice, for yours is the
kingdom of heaven/ Mat. v. 10. God cleareth up their right and
interest — yours. So also distinct hopes and thoughts of glory. Mar
tyrs, in the act of suffering and troubles, have not only a sight of
their interest, but a sight of the glory of their interest. There are
some thoughts stirred up in them which come near to an ecstasy, a
happy pre-union of their souls and their blessedness, and such a fore-
enjoyment of heaven as giveth them a kind of dedolency in the midst
of their trials and sufferings. Their minds are so wholly swallowed
up with the things that are not seen, that they have little thought or
sense of the things that are seen ; as the apostle seemeth to intimate,
2 Cor. iv. 18. Again, they rejoice because of their speedy and swifter
passage into glory. The enemies do them a courtesy to rid them out
of a troublesome world. This made the ancient Christians to rejoice
more when they were condemned than absolved j1 to kiss the stake, and
thank the executioner, because of their earnest desires to be with Christ.
So Justin Martyr (Apol. 1, adversus Gentes), Gratias agimus quod
a molestis dominis liber emur — we thank you for delivering us from
hard taskmasters, that we may more sweetly enjoy the bosom of
Jesus Christ.

Object. 2. But some will say, My sufferings are not akin to martyrdom ;
they come not from the hand of men, but providence, and are for my
own sins, not for Christ.

Solut. I answer — It is true there is a difference between afflictions
from the hand of God, and persecutions from the violence of men.
God's hand is just, and guilt will make the soul less cheerful ; but
remember the apostle's word is divers trials ; and sickness, death of
friends, and such things as come from an immediate providence, are
but trials to the children of God. In these afflictions there is required
not only mourning and humbling, but a holy courage and confi
dence : Job v. 22, ' At destruction and famine shalt thou laugh/
There is a holy greatness of mind, and a joy that becometh the sad
dest providences. Faith should be above all that befalleth us ; it is
its proper work to make a believer triumph over every temporary acci
dent. In ordinary crosses there are many reasons of laughing and
joy ; as the fellow-feeling of Christ ; if you do not suffer for Christ,
Christ suffereth in you, and with you. He is afflicted and touched
with a sense of your afflictions. It is an error in believers to think
that Christ is altogether unconcerned in their sorrows, unless they be
endured for his name's sake, and that the comforts of the gospel are
only applicable to martyrdom. Again, another ground of joy in ordi
nary crosses is, because in them we may have much experience of grace,
of the love of God, and our own sincerity and patience ; and that is
ground of rejoicing: Eom. v. 3, 'We rejoice in tribulation, knowing
that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience.' The rule
holdeth good in all kinds of tribulations or sufferings ; they occasion
sweet discoveries of God, and so are matter of joy. See also 2 Cor.
xii. 9, 10, ' I glory in infirmities,' and ' take pleasure in infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.' They are happy occa-

1 ' Magis damnati quatn absoluti gaudernus.' — Tertul. in Apol.

26 ANT EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 2.

sions to discover more of God to us, to give us a greater sense and
feelino- of the power of grace ; and so we may take pleasure m them.
Lastly, all evils are alike to faith ; and it would as much misbecome
a Christian hope to be dejected with losses, as with violence or per
secution. You should walk so that the world may know you can live
above every condition, and that all evils are much beneath your hopes.
Well, then, from all that hath been said we see that we should with
the same cheerfulness suffer the will of Christ as we should suffer
for the name of Christ.

Obs. 4. From that, ivhen ye fall, observe that evils are the better borne
when they are undeserved and involuntary ; that is, when we fall into
them, rather than draw them upon ourselves. It was Tertullian's
error to say that afflictions were to be sought arid desired. The crea
ture never knoweth when it is well ; sometimes we question God's
love, because we have no afflictions, and anon, because we have no
thing but afflictions. In all these things we must refer ourselves to
God's pleasure, not desire troubles, but bear them when he layeth
them on us. Christ hath taught us to pray, ' Lead us not into tempta
tion; ' it is but a fond presumption to cast ourselves upon it. Philas-
trius speaketh of some that would compel men to kill them out of an
affectation of martyrdom ; and so doth Theodorct.1 This was a mad
ambition, not a true zeal ; and no less fond are they that seek out
crosses and troubles in the world, rather than wait for them, or by
their own violences and miscarriages draw just hatred upon them
selves. Peter's rule is: 'Let none of you suffer as an evil-doer,' 1
Peter iv. 15. We lose the comfort of our sufferings when there is
guilt in them.

Obs. 5. From that divers, God hath several ways wherewith to exercise
his people. Divers miseries come one in the neck of another, as the
lunatic in the gospel ' fell sometimes in the water, sometimes in the fire ;'
so God changeth the dispensation, sometimes in this trouble, sometimes
in that. Paul gives a catalogue of his dangers and sufferings : 2 Cor.
xi. 24-28, ' In perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine
own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the city, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.'
Crosses seldom come single. When God beginneth once to try,
he useth divers ways of trial ; and indeed there is great reason.
Divers diseases must have divers remedies. Pride, envy, coveteous-
ness, worldliness, wantonness, ambition, are not all cured by the same
physic. Such an affliction pricks the bladder of pride, another checks
our desires, that are apt to run out in the way of the world, &c. Do
not murmur, then, if miseries come upon you, like waves, in a continual
succession. Job's messengers came thick and close one after another,
to tell of oxen, and house, and camels, and sons, and daughters, and
all destroyed, Job i. ; messenger upon messenger, and still with a
sadder story. We have ' divers lusts,' Titus iii. 3, and, therefore, have
need of ' divers trials/ In the 6th of the Kevelations one horse cometh
after another — the white, the pale, the black, the red. When the
sluice is once opened, several judgments succeed in order. In the
4th of Amos, the prophet speaks of blasting, and mildew, and clean-

1 Theod. lib. iv. Hseret. Fabul.

JAS. I. 3.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 27

ness of teeth, pestilence, and war; all these judgments one after
another. So Christ threatens Jerusalem with ' wars and rumours of
wars ; ' and addeth : ' There shall be famine, and pestilences, and
earthquakes in divers places,' Mat. xxiv. 7. Oh ! then, ' Stand in
awe, and sin not,' Ps. iv. When the first hrunt is over, you cannot
say, 'the bitterness ot death is past;' other judgments will have
their course and turn. And learn, too, from hence, that God hath
several methods of trial — confiscation, banishment, poverty, infamy,
reproach ; some trials search us more than others. We must leave
it to his wisdom to make choice. Will-suffering is as bad as will-
worship.

Obs. 6. From that word temptations, observe, that the afflictions of
God's people are but trials. He calleth them not afflictions or perse
cutions, but ' temptations,' from the end for which God sendeth them.
The same word is elsewhere used: 2 Peter ii. 9, ' God knoweth how
to deliver the godly out of temptation.' Now affliction is called
temptation, not in the vulgar sense, as temptation is put for an occa
sion or inducement to sin, but in its proper and native signification,
as it is taken for trial and experience ; and so we have it positively
asserted that this is the end of God : Dent. viii. 16, ' He fed thee with
manna in the wilderness, to humble thee and prove thee, and do thee
good at the latter end.' The afflictions of the saints are not judg
ments, but corrections or trials — God's discipline to mortify sin, or his
means to discover grace ; to prove our faith, love, patience, sincerity,
constancy, &c. Well, then, behave thyself as one under trial. Let
nothing be discovered in thee but what is good and gracious. Men
will do their best at their trial ; oh ! watch over yourselves with the
more care that no impatience, vanity, murmuring, or worldliness of
spirit may appear in you.

Yer. 3. Knowing this, that the trial of your faith loorketh pa
tience.

Here is the first argument to press them to joy in afflictions, taken
partly from the nature, partly from the effect of them. The nature
of them — they are a ' trial of faith ; ' the effect or fruit of them — they
beget or 'work patience.' Let us a little examine the words.

Knowing. — It either implieth that they ought to know, as Paul saith
elsewhere : 1 Thes. iv. 13, ' I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
concerning them that are asleep in the Lord/ &c. So some suppose
James speaketh as exhorting: Knowing, that is, I would have you
know ; or else it is a report ; knowing, that is, ye do know, being taught
by the Spirit and experience ; or rather, lastly, it is a direction, in
which the apostle acquainteth them with the way how the Spirit
settleth a joy in the hearts of persecuted Christians, by a lively know
ledge, or spiritual discourse, by acting their thoughts upon the
nature and quality of their troubles ; and so knowing is distinctly con
sidering.

That the trial of your faith. — Here is a new word used for afflic
tions ; before it was ireipaa-^ol^, temptations, which is more general.
Here it is So/cifj,iov, trial, which noteth such a trial as tendeth to
approbation. But here ariseth a doubt, because of the seeming con
tradiction between Paul and James. Paul saith, Eom. v. 4, that

28 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 3.

patience worketh SOKI^V, trial or experience ; and James seemeth
to invert the order, saying, that SOKI/JLIOV, ' trial or experience worketh
patience/ But I answer — (1.) There is a difference between the
words : there it is So/cijjir) ; here, SOKI/J.IOV ; and so fitly rendered there
experience — here, trial. (2.) There Paul speaketh of the effect of suf
fering, experience of God's help, and the comforts of his Spirit, which
work patience ; here, of the suffering itself, which, from its use and
ordination to believers, he calleth trial, because by it our faith and
other graces are approved and tried.

Of your faith; that is, either of your constancy in the profession of
the faith, or else of faith the grace, which is the chief tiling exercised
and approved in affliction.

Worketh patience. — The original word is Karepyd&Tcu, perfecteth
patience. But this is a new paradox — how affliction or trial, which is
the cause of all murmuring or impatience, should work patience !

I answer — (1.) Some expound the proposition of a natural patience,
which, indeed, is caused by the mere affliction ; when we are used to
them, they are the less grievous. Passions being blunted by conti
nual exercise, grief becometh a delight. But I suppose this is not in
the aim of the apostle ; this is a stupidity, not a patience. (2.) Then,
I suppose the meaning is, that our trials minister matter and occa
sion for patience. (3.) God's blessing must not be excluded. The work
of the efficient is often given to the material cause, and trial is said to
do that which God doth. By trial he sanctifieth afflictions to us, and
then they are a means to beget patience. (4.) We must not forget the
distinction between punishment and trial. The fruit of punishment
is despair and murmuring, but of trial, patience and sweet submis
sion. To the wicked every condition is a snare. They are corrupted
by prosperity, and dejected by adversity ; * but to the godly every
estate is a blessing. Their prosperity worketh thanksgiving, their
adversity patience. Pharaoh and Joram grew the more mad for their
afflictions, but the people of God the more patient. The same fire that
purgeth the corn bruiseth the stalk or reed, and in that fire in which
the chaff is burnt gold sparkleth.2 So true is that of the psalmist :
Ps. xi. 5, ' The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked, and him that
loveth violence, his soul hateth/ Well, then, the sum of all is, that
afflictions serve to examine and prove our faith, and, by the blessing of
God, to bring forth the fruit of patience, as the quiet fruit of right
eousness is ascribed to the rod, Heb. xii. 11, which is indeed the
proper work of the Spirit. He saith, ' The chastening yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby ; ' as
our apostle saith, ' The trial worketh patience/

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. From that knowing, ignorance is the cause of sorrow.
When we do not rightly discern of evils, we grieve for them. Our
strength, as men, lieth in reason ; as Christians, in spiritual discourse.
Paul was instructed, Phil. iv. 11, and that made him walk with such
an equal mind in unequal conditions. Solomon saith, Prov. xxiv. 5,

' Eum nulla adversitas dejicit, quern nulla prosperitas corrumpit.' — Greg. Mor.
' ' Ignis non est diversus et diversa agit ; paleam in cineres vertit ; auro sordes tollit.'
— Aug. in Ps. xxxi.

JAS. I. 3.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 29

* A wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increase th strength ;'
and he saith afterwards, ver. 10, 'If thou faintest in affliction, thy
strength is but small ; ' that is, thou hast but little prudence or know
ledge. There lieth the weakness of our spirits. Children are scared with
every trifle. Did we know what God is, and whereto his dealings tend,
we should not faint. Well, then, labour for a right discerning. To help
you, consider : — (1.) General knowledge will not serve the turn. The
heathens had TO (yvwa-rov, excellent notions concerning God in the gene
ral, Rom i. 19 ; but they were 'vain in their imaginations/ ver. 21 —
ev rot? SiaXoyia-fiois, in their practical inferences, when they were

to bring down their knowledge to particular cases and experiences.
They had a great deal of knowledge in general truths, but no prudence
to apply them to particular exigences and cases. Many can discourse
well in the general ; as Seneca, when he had the rich gardens, could
persuade to patience, but fainted when himself came to suffer.1 So
Eliphaz charge th it upon Job, that he was able to instruct and strengthen
others, ' But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest ; it toucheth
thee, and thou art troubled,' Job iv. 45. Therefore it must not only be
a knowledge, but a prudence to make application of general truths, that
in particular cases we may not be disturbed and discomposed. (2.) Our
knowledge must be drawn out in actual thoughts and spiritual dis
course. This bringeth in seasonable succour and relief to the soul,
and therein lieth our strength. Observe it, and you shall always find
that the Spirit worketh by seasonable thoughts. Christ had taught the
apostles a great many comforts, and then he promiseth, John xiv.
26, ' The Comforter shall come ; KOI dva/Avijcrci,, and he shall bring all
things to your remembrance which I shall say to you/ That is the
proper office of the Comforter, to come in with powerful and season
able thoughts to the relief of the soul. The apostle ascribeth their
fainting to ' forgetting the consolation,' Heb. xii. 5. Nay, observe it
generally throughout the word — our strength in duties or afflictions
is made to lie in our distinct and actual thoughts. Would we mor
tify corruptions ? It is done by a present acting of the thoughts, or
by spiritual discourse ; therefore the apostle saith, Rom. vi. 6, ' Know
ing this, that our old man is crucified with him ; ' so would we bear
afflictions cheerfully. See Heb. x. 34, * Ye took it joyfully, knowing
that you have a better and more enduring substance ; ' and Rom. v.
3, ' Knowing that tribulation worketh experience.' And so in many
other places of scripture we find that the Spirit helpeth us by awaken
ing and stirring up proper thoughts and discourses in the mind. (3.)
Those thoughts which usually beget patience are such as these : — (1st.)
That evils do not come by chance, or the mere fury of instruments,
but from God. So holy Job : ' The arrows of the Almighty are with
in me,' Job vi. 4. Mark, ' the arrows of the Almighty/ though Satan
had a great hand in them, as you may see, Job ii. 7 — God's arrows,
though shot out of Satan's bow. And then, (2d.) That where we see
anything of God, we owe nothing but reverence and submission ; for
he is too strong to be resisted, too just to be questioned, and too good
to be suspected. But more of this in the fifth chapter.

Obs. 2. From that Sofcifjuov, the trial, the use and ordination of
1 ' Senecse preedivitis hortos.' — Juvenal.

30 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 3.

persecution to the people of God is trial. God maketh use of the worst
instruments, as fine gold is cast into the fire, the most devouring ele
ment. Innocency is best tried by iniquity.1 But why doth God try
us ? Not for his own sake, for he is omniscient ; but either— (1.) For
our sakes, that we may know ourselves. In trials we discern the sin
cerity of grace, and the weakness and liveliness of it ; and so are less
strangers to our own hearts. Sincerity is discovered. A gilded pot
sherd may shine till it cometh to scouring. In trying times God
heateth the furnace so hot, that dross is quite wasted ; every interest
is crossed, and then hirelings become changelings. Therefore, that
we may know our sincerity, God useth severe ways of trial. Sometimes
we discover our own weakness, Mat. xiii. ; we find that faith weak in
danger which we thought to be strong out of danger ; as the blade in the
stony ground was green, and made a fair show till the height of sum
mer. Peter thought his faith impregnable, till the sad trial in the
high priest's hall, Mat. xxvi. 69. In pinching weather weak persons
feel the aches and bruises of their joints. Sometimes we discern the
liveliness of grace. Stars shine in the night that lie hid in the day. It
is said, Eev. xiii. 10, ' Here is the patience and faith of the saints ; '
that is, the time when these graces are exercised, and discovered in
their height and glory. Spices are most fragrant when burnt and
bruised, so have saving graces their chiefest fragrancy in hard times.
The pillar that conducted the Israelites appeared as a cloud by day,
but as a fire by night. The excellency of faith is beclouded till it be
put upon a thorough trial. Thus for ourselves, that we may know
either the sincerity, or the weakness, or the liveliness of the grace that
is wrought in us. (2.) Or for the world's sake. And so, (1st.) for the
present to convince them by our constancy, that they may be con
firmed in the faith, if weak and staggering, or converted, if altogether
uncalled. It was a notable saying of Luther, Ecclesia totum mun-
dum convertit sanguine et oratione — the church converteth the wrhole
world by blood and prayer. We are proved, and religion is proved,
when we are called to sufferings. Paul's bonds made for the fur
therance of the gospel : Phil. i. 12, 13, ' Many of the brethren
waxed confident in my bonds, and are much more bold to speak the
word without fear.' In prosperous times religion is usually stained
with the scandals of those that profess it ; and then God bringeth on
great trials to honour and clear the renown of it again to the world,
and usually these prevail. Justin Martyr was converted by the con
stancy of the Christians (Niceph. lib. iii. cap. 26). Nay, he himself
confesseth it.2 When he saw the Christians so • willingly choose death,
he reasoned thus within himself : Surely these men must be honest, and
there is somewhat eminent in their principles. So I remember the
author of the Council of Trent saith concerning Anne de Burg, a
senator of Paris, who was burnt for Protestantism, that the death and
constancy of a man so conspicuous did make many curious to know
what religion that was for which he had courageously endured pun
ishment, and so the number was much increased.3 (2d.) We are tried

1 'Probatio innocentiso nostrue est iniquitas vestra.' — Tertul. in Apol.

2 Justin Mart, in Apol. 2, circa finem.

3 See Hist, of the Council of Trent, p. 418,2d edit.

JAS. I. 3.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 31

with a respect to the day of judgment : 1 Peter i. 7, ' That the trial
of your faith may be found to praise and honour in the day of Christ's
appearing.' God will justify faith before all the world, and the crown
of patience is set upon a believer's head in that solemn day of Christ.
You see the reasons why God trieth.

Use. Well, then, it teacheth us to bear afflictions with constancy
and patience ; God trieth us by these things. For your comfort con
sider four things : — (1.) God's aim in your afflictions is not destruction,
but trial ; as gold is put into the furnace to be fined, not consumed.
Wicked men's misery is ' an evil, arid an only evil,' Ezek. vii. 5. In
their cup there is no mixture, and their plagues are not to fan, but
destroy. But to godly men, miseries have another property and habi
tude : Dan. xi. 35, ' They shall fall to try, and to purge, and to make
white ; ' that is, in times of many persecutions, as was that of Anti-
ochus, the figure of Antichrist. (2.) The time of trial is appointed :
Dan. xi. 35, ' They shall fall to try, and to purge, and to make white,
even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.'
You are not in the furnace by chance, or at the will of your enemies ;
the time is appointed, set by God. (3.) God sitteth by the furnace
prying and looking after his metal : Mai. iii. 3, ' He shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver/ It notes his constant and assiduous care, that
the fire be not too hot, that nothing be spilt and lost. It is a notable
expression that of Isa. xlviii. 9, 10: 'For my praise will I refrain ; I
have refined thee, but not as silver ; ' that is, not so thoroughly. Silver
or gold is kept in the fire till the dross be wholly wrought out of it :
if we should be fined as silver, when should we come out of the fur
nace ? Therefore God saith he will ' choose us in the furnace,' though
much dross still remain. (4.) Consider, this trial is not only to approve,
but to improve ; we are tried as gold, refined when tried : so 1 Peter i.
7, ' That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold
that perisheth ; ' or more clearly in Job xxiii. 10, ' When he hath
tried me, I shall come forth as gold : ' the drossy and scorious part or
matter is Severed, and the corruptions that cleave close to us are purged
and eaten out.

Obs. 3. From that, your faith. The chief grace which is tried in
persecution is faith: so in 1 Peter i. 7, k That the trial of your faith,
being more precious/ &c. Of all graces Satan hath a spite at faitfy,
and of all graces God delighteth that the perfection of it should be
discovered. Faith is tried, partly because it is the radical grace that
keepeth in the life of a Christian : Hab. ii. 4, ' The just shall live by
faith : ' we work by love, but live by faith ; partly because this is the
grace most exercised, sometimes in keeping the soul from using ill
means, and unlawful courses : Isa. xxviii. 16, 'He that believeth doth
not make haste ; ' that is, to help himself before God will. It is believ
ing that maketh the soul stand to its proof and trial : Heb. xi. 35,
' By faith those that were tortured would not accept deliverance ; '
that is, which was offered to them upon ill terms, of refusing God and
his service. Sometimes it is exercised in bringing the soul to live
upon gospel-comforts in the absence of want of worldly, and to make
a Christian to fetch water out of the rock when there is none in the
fountain. Many occasions there are to exercise faith, partly because

32 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 3.

it is the grace most oppugned and assaulted ; all other graces march
under the conduct of faith : and therefore Satan's cunning^is to fight,
not against small or great, but to make the brunt and weight of his
opposition to fall upon this grace : nay, God himself seemeth an
enemy, and it is faith's work to believe him near, when to sense he is
gone and withdrawn. Well, then : —

Use 1. You that have faith, or pretend to it, must look for trials.
Graces are not crowned till they are exercised ; never any yet went to
heaven without combats and conflicts. Faith must be tried before it
be ' found to praise and honour.' It is very notable, that wherever
God bestoweth the assurance of his favour, there presently followeth
some trial : Heb. x. 32, ' After ye were illuminated, ye endured a great
fight of afflictions/ Some are cast upon troubles for religion soon after
their first conversion, like these, as soon as illuminated. When Christ
himself had received a testimony from heaven, presently Satan
tempteth him : ' This is my beloved Son ; ' and presently he cometh
with an, ' If thou be the Son of God ' — Mat. iii. 17, with Mat. iv. 1,
3 : after solemn assurance he would fain make you question your
adoption. So see Gen. xxii. 1 : ' It came to pass that after these things
God did tempt Abraham/ What things were those ? Solemn inter
courses between him and God, and express assurance from heaven that
the Lord would be his God, and the God of his seed. When the castle
is victualled, then look for a siege.

Use 2. You that are under trials, look to your faith. Christ knew
what was most likely to be assailed, and therefore telleth Peter, Luke
xxii. 32, ' I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not/ When
faith faileth, we faint ; therefore we should make it our chief work to
maintain faith. Chiefly look after two things : — (1.) Hold fast your
assurance in the midst of the saddest trials: in the furnace call God
Father : Zech. xiii. 21, ' I will bring them through the fire, and they
shall be refined as silver and gold is tried : and they shall say, The Lord
is my God.' Let not any hard dealing make you mistake your Father's
affection. One special point of faith, under the cross, is the faith of our
adoption: Heb. xii. 5, ' The exhortation speaketh to you as children; my
son, despise not the chastening of the Lord/ It is the apostle's own note
that the afflicted are styled by the name of sons. Christ had a bitter
cup, but saith lie, My Father hath put it into my hands: John xviii.
11, ' The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink of
it ? ' It is a bitter cup, but he is still my Father. (2.) The next work
of faith is, to keep your hopes fresh and lively : believers always
counter-balance the temptation with their hopes. There is no grief
or loss so great, but faith knoweth how to despise it in the hope of the
reward: therefore the apostle describeth faith to be, Heb. xi. 1,
uTTocrracrt? TWV e\7ri£o/jiei>a)v, ' the substance of things hoped for ; '
because it giveth a reality and present being to things absent and to
come, opposing hope to the temptation, and making the thing hoped
for as really to exist in the heart of the believer as if it were already
enjoyed. Well, then, let faith put your hopes in one balance, when
the devil hath put the world, with the terrors and profits of it, in the
other; and say, as Paul, Xoyi&paL, ' I reckon, or compute, that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the

JAS. I. 3.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 33

glory that shall be revealed in us,' Kom. viii. 18. All this is nothing
to our hopes : what is this to glory to come ?

Obs. 4. From that /carepyd^erai, worketh or perfecteth, many trials
cause patience, that is, by the blessing of God upon them. Habits are
strengthened by frequent acts ; the more you act grace, the stronger ;
and often trial puts us upon frequent exercise : the apostle saith, chas
tening 'yieldeth the quiet fruit of righteousness, rot? veyv/j,vaa-/ji,evois,
to them that are exercised thereby,' Heb. xii. 11. The fruit of patience
is not found after one affliction or two, but after we are exercised and
acquainted with them : the yoke after a while begin neth to be well
settled, and by much bearing, we learn to bear with quietness, for use
perfecteth ; as we see those parts of the body are most solid that are
most in action,1 and trees often shaken are deeply rooted. Well, then :
(1.) It showeth how careful you should be to exercise yourselves under
every cross ; by that means you come to get habits of grace and
patience : neglect causeth decay, and God withdraweth his hand from
such as are idle : in spirituals, as well as temporals, ' diligence maketh
rich,' Prov. x. 4. (2.) It showeth that if we murmur or miscarry in
any providence, the fault is in our own hearts, not in our condition.
Many blame providence, and say they cannot do otherwise, their
troubles are so great and sharp. Oh ! consider, trials, yea, many trials,
where sanctified, work patience : that which you think would cause
you to murmur, is a means to make you patient. The evil is in the
unmortifiedness of your affections, not in the misery of your condition.
By the apostle's rule, the greater the trial the greater the patience,
for the trial worketh patience. There is no condition in the world
but giveth occasion for the exercise of grace.

Obs. 5. From that patience, the apostle comforteth them with
this argument, that they should gain patience ; as if that would make
amends for all the smart of their sufferings. The note is, that it is
an excellent exchange to part with outward Comforts for inward graces.
Fiery trials are nothing if you gain patience. Sickness, with patience,
is better than health ; loss, with patience, is better than gain. If
earthly affections were more mortified, we should value inward enjoy
ments and experiences of God more than we do. Paul saith, 2 Cor.
xii. 9, ' I will glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me : ' misery and calamities should be welcome, because
they gave him further experiences of Christ. Certainly, nothing
maketh afflictions burthensome to us but our own carnal affections.

Obs. 6. From the same, we may observe more particularly, that
patience is a grace of an excellent use and value. We cannot be
Christians without it ; we cannot be men without it : not Christians,
for it is not only the ornament, but the conservatory of other graces.
How else should we persist in well-doing when we meet with grievous
crosses ? Therefore the apostle Peter biddeth us, 2 Peter i. 5, 6, to
' add to faith, virtue ; to virtue, knowledge ; to knowledge, temper
ance ; to temperance, patience.' Where are all the requisites of true
godliness ? It is grounded in faith, directed by knowledge ; defended,
on the right hand, by temperance against the allurements of the world ;

1 ' Ferendo discimus perferre ; solidissima pars est corporis, quam frequens usus agita-
vit.' — Seneca.

VOL. IV. 0

34 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 4.

on the left, by patience against the hardships of the world. ^ You see
we cannot be Christians without it ; so, also, not men. ^ Christ saith,
' In patience possess your souls/ Luke xxi. 19. A man is a man, and
doth enjoy himself and his life by patience : otherwise we shall but
create needless troubles and disquiets to ourselves, ^ and so be, as it
were, dispossessed of our own lives and souls— that is, lose the comfort
and the quiet of them.

Ver. 4. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be
perfect and entire, wanting in nothing.

Here he cometh to show what patience is right, by way of exhorta
tion, pressing them to perseverance, integrity, and all possible perfec
tion. I will open what is difficult in the verse.

"Epyov re\€iov, her perfect work. — For the opening of this, know
that in the apostle's time there were divers that with a great deal of
zeal bore out the first brunt, but being tired, either with the diversity
or the length of evils, they yielded and fainted ; therefore he wisheth
them to tarry till patience were thoroughly exercised, and its perfection
discovered. The highest acts of graces are called the perfection of
them : as of Abraham's faith we say, in ordinary speech, there was a
perfect faith ; so when patience is thoroughly tried by sundry and
long afflictions, we say there is a perfect patience. So that the perfect
work of patience is a resolute perseverance, notwithstanding the length,
the sharpness, and the continual succession of sundry afflictions. One
trial discovered patience in Job ; but when evil came upon evil, and
he bore all with a meek and quiet spirit, that discovered patience
perfect, or sufficiently exercised. It followeth : —

That you may be perfect and entire, wanting in nothing. — The
apostle's intent is not to assert a possibility of perfection in Christians:
* We all fail in many things/ James iii. 2. And all that we have
here is but in part: 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10, 'We know in part, and we
prophesy in part ; but when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away.' Here grace must needs be
imperfect, because the means are imperfect. But his meaning is either
that we should be sincere, as sincerity is called perfection in scripture:
Gen. xvii. 1, ' Walk before me, and be thou perfect ; ' so it is in the
original and marginal reading, what in our translation is, ' be thou
upright ; ' or else it is meant of the perfection of duration and perse
verance ; or rather, lastly, that perfection is intended which is called
the perfection of parts, — that we might be so perfect, or entire, that
no necessary grace might be lacking — that, having other gifts, they
might also have the gift of patience, and the whole image of Christ
might be completed in them — that nothing might be wanting which is
necessary to make up a Christian. Some, indeed, make this a legal
sentence, as implying what God may in justice require, and to what
we should in conscience aim — to wit, exact perfection, both in parts
and degrees. It is true this is beyond our power ; but because we
have lost our power, there is no reason God should lose his right. It
is a saying of Austin, 1 0 homo, in prceceptione cognosce quid debeas
habere, et in correptione cognosce tuo te vitio non habere. Such pre
cepts serve to show God's right, and quicken us to duty, and humble

1 Aug. in lib. de Corrept. et Grat. c. 3.

JAS. I. 4.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 35

us with the sense of our own weakness. So much God might require,
and so much we had power to perform, though we have lost it by our
own default. This is true, but the former interpretations are more
simple and genuine.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. The perfection of our graces is not discovered till we are
put upon many and great trials. As a pilot's skill is discerned in a
storm, so is a Christian's grace in many and great troubles.1 Well,
then, in all that doth befall you, say, Yet patience hath not had its
perfect work. Expectation of a worse thing maketh lesser troubles
more comportable ; yet trust and patience is not drawn out to the
height. The apostle saith, Heb. xii. 4, ' Yet ye have not resisted
unto blood, striving against sin/ Should we faint in a lesser trial,
before the perfect work cometh to be discovered ? Job was in a sad
condition, yet he putteth a harder case : Job xiii. 15, ' If he should
kill me, yet I will trust in him : ' in a higher trial I should not faint
or murmur.

Obs. 2. That the exercise of grace must not be interrupted till it be
full and perfect — till it come to 6^70^ reXetov, a perfect work. Ordi
nary spirits may be a little raised for a time, but they fall by and by
again : Gal. v. 7, ' Ye did run well ; who hindered you ? ' You were
in a good way of faith and patience, and went happily forward ; but
what turned you out of the way ? Implying there was as little, or
rather less, reason to be faint in the progress as to be discouraged in
the beginning. Common principles may make men blaze and glare
for a while, yet afterward they fall from heaven like lightning. It is
true of all graces, but chiefly of the grace in the text. Patience must
last to the end of the providence, as long as the affliction lasteth ; not
only at first, but when your evils are doubled, and the furnace is
heated seven times hotter. Common stubbornness will bear the first
onset, but patience holdeth out when troubles are continued and
delayed. The apostle chideth the Galatians because their first heat
was soon spent : Gal. iii. 3, * Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the
spirit, are ye made perfect in the flesh ? ' It is not enough to begin ;
our proceedings in religion must be answerable to our beginnings.2
To falter and stagger after much forwardness,3 showeth we are ' not
fit for the kingdom of God,' Luke ix. 62. The beasts in the prophet
always went forward (see Ezek. i. 11) ; and crabs, that go backward,
are reckoned among unclean creaturesy Lev. xi. 10. Nero's first five
years are famous ; and many set forth well, but are soon discouraged.
Liberius, the Bishop of Home, was zealous against the Arians, and
was looked upon as the Samson of the church, the most earnest
maintainer of orthodoxism ; suffered banishment for the truth ; but
alas! he after failed, and to recover his bishopric (saith Baronius4),
sided with the Arians. Well, then, while you are in the world, go on
to a more perfect discovery of patience, and follow them that, ' through

1 ' Gubernatoris artem tranquillum mare efc obsequens ventus non ostendit; adversi
aliquid incurrat oportet, quod animum probet.' — Sen. ad Marc. c. 5.

2 ' Non incepisse sed perfecisse virtutis est.' — Aug. ad Frat. in Eremo. Ser. 8.

3 ' Turpe est cedere oneri, et luctari cum officio quod semel recepisti ; nou est vir fortis
et strenuus qui laborem fugit, nee crescit illi animus ipsa rerum difficultate. ' — Seneca.

4 Baronius ad annum Christi, 357.

36 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 4.

faith' and a continued < patience, have inherited the promises/ Heb.
vi .12.

Obs. 3. That Christians must aim at, and press on to perfection.
The apostle saith, ' That ye may be perfect and entire, nothing want
ing/ (1.) Christians will be coveting, and aspiring to, absolute per
fection. We are led on to growth by this aim and desire : they hate
sin so perfectly, that they cannot be quiet till it be utterly abolished.
First, they go to God for justification, ne damnet^ that the damning
power of sin may be taken away ; then for sanctification, ne regnet,
that the reigning power of sin may be destroyed ; then for glorification,
ne sit, that the very being of it may be abolished. And as they are
bent against sin with a mortal and keen hatred, so they are carried on
with an earnest and importunate desire of grace. They that have
true grace will not be contented with a little grace ; no measures will
serve their turn. ' I would by any means attain to the resurrection
of the dead,' saith Paul, Phil. iii. 11 ; that is, such a state of grace as
we enjoy after the resurrection. It is a metonymy of the subject for
the adjunct. Free grace, you see, hath a vast desire and ambition ;
it aimeth at the holiness of the glorious and everlasting state ; and,
indeed, this is it which makes a Christian to press onward, and be so
earnest in his endeavours ; as Heb. vi. 1 , with 4, ' Let us go on to
perfection ; ' and then ver. 4, * It is impossible for those that were
once enlightened/ &c., implying that men go back when they do not
go on to perfection ; having low aims, they go backward, and fall off.
(2.) Christians must be actually perfect in all points and parts of
Christianity. As they will have faith, they will have patience; as
patience, love and zeal. In 1 Peter i. 15, the rule is, ' Be ye holy, as I
am holy, in all manner of conversation/ Every point and part of life
must be seasoned with grace, therefore the apostle saith, lv Tracrfj
ava<rrpo<l>fj, in every creek and turning of the conversation : so 2 Cor.
viii. 7, ' As ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and
knowledge, and in all diligence, see that ye abound in this grace also/
Hypocrites are always lacking in one part or another. The Corinthians
had much knowledge and utterance, and little charity ; as many pro
fessors pray much, know much, hear much, but do not give much ;
they do not ' abound in this also/ As Basil saith in his sermon ad
Divites, I know many that fast, pray, sigh, Trdcrav rrjv dbdiravnv evkd-
fteiav eK^iavvfjbevov^^ love all cheap acts of religion, and such as cost
nothing but their own pains, but are sordid and base, withholding from
God and the poor, rl o^eXo? TOVTOLS TT}? XO/TTT;? dperTJs. What profit
have they in their other graces when they are not perfect ? There is
a link and cognation between the graces ; they love to go hand in
hand, to come up as in a dance, and consort, as some expound the
apostle's word, eV^of^We : 2 Peter i. 5, ' Add to faith, virtue,' Ac.
One allowed miscarriage or neglect may be fatal. Say, then, thus
within yourselves— A Christian should be found in nothing wanting.
Oh ! but how many sad defects are there in my soul ! if I were
weighed in God's balance, I should be found much wanting ! Oh,
strive to be more entire and perfect. (3.) They aim at the perfection
of duration, that, as they would be wanting in no part of duty, so in
no part of their lives. Subsequent acts of apostasy make our former

JAS. I. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 37

crown to wither ; they lose what they have wrought, 2 John 8. All
their spiritual labour formerly bestowed is to no purpose, and whatever
we have done and suffered for the gospel, it is, in regard of God, lost
and forgotten. So Ezek. xviii. 24, ' When he turneth to iniquity, all
the righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned/ As under
the law, if a Nazarite had defiled himself, he was to begin all anew :
Num. vi. 12, * The days that were before shall be lost, because his
separation was denied ; ' as if he had fulfilled the half part of his vow,
or three parts of his vow, yet all was to be null and lost upon every
pollution, and he was to begin again. So it is in point of apostasy;
after, by a solemn vow and consecration, we have separated ourselves
to Christ, if we do not endure to the end, all the righteousness, zeal,
and patience of our former profession is forgotten.

Ver. 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him.

The apostle, having spoken of bearing afflictions with a mind above
them, cometh here to prevent an objection, which might be framed
thus : This is a hard saying, to keep up the spirit not only in patience,
but joy ; when all things are against us, who can abide it ? .Duty is
soon expressed, but how shall we get it practised? The apostle
granteth it is hard, and it will require a great deal of spiritual skill
and wisdom, which, if you want (saith he), God will furnish you, if
you ask it of him ; and upon this occasion digresseth into the rules
and encouragements of prayer : in this verse he encourageth them by
the nature and promise of God. But to the words.

If any of y OIL — This if doth not argue doubt, but only inferreth a
supposition.1 But why doth the apostle speak with a supposition ?
Who doth not lack wisdom ? May we not ask, in the prophet's question,
* Who is wise ? who is prudent ? ' Hosea xiv. 9. I answer — (1.) Such
expressions do more strongly aver and affirm a thing, as Mai. i. 6 : ' If
I be a father, where is my honour ? If I be a master, where is my
fear ?' Not as if God would make a doubt of these things, but such sup
positions are the strongest affirmations, for they imply a presumption
of a concession : you will all grant, I am a father and a master, &c.
So here, if you lack wisdom : you will grant you all lack this skill. So
Eom. xiii. 9, ' If there be any other commandment/ &c. The apostle
knew there was another commandment, but he proceeded upon that
grant. So 2 Thes. i. 6, eiirep, ' If it be a righteous thing,' &c. The
apostle taketh it for granted it is righteous to render tribulation to
the troubler, and proceedeth upon that grant : and therefore we render
it affirmatively, ' seeing it is/ &c. So James v. 15, ' If he hath com
mitted sins/ Why, who hath not ? It is, I say, a proceeding upon a
presumption of a grant. (2.) All do not lack in a like manner : some
want only further degrees and supplies ; therefore, if you lack ; with
a supposition, if you lack it wholly, or only more measures.

Wisdom. — It is to be restrained to the circumstances of the text, not
taken generally : he intendeth wisdom or skill to bear afflictions ; for
in the original the beginning of this verse doth plainly catch hold of
the heel of the former, eV jmrjSevl Xet7ro//,ez/ot, and then el &e rt?
' lacking nothing,' and presently, ' if any of you lack/

1 Nou dubitantis est, sed supponentis.

38 AN EXPOSITION. WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 5.

Let Mm ask it ; that is, by serious and earnest prayer.

Of God ; to whom our addresses must be immediate.

That giveth to all men. — -Some suppose it implieth the natural
beneficence and general bounty of God, as indeed that is an argument
in prayer ; God, that giveth to all men, will not deny his saints : as the
psalmist rnaketh God's common bounty to the creatures to be aground
of hope and confidence to his people, Ps. cxlv. 16, ' Thou satisfiest
the desire of every living thing ; ' and upon this his trust groweth,
ver. 19, 'He will fulfil the desires of them that fear him/ He that
satisfieth every living thing certainly will satisfy his own servants.
There is a general bounty of God, which though liberally dispensed,
yet is not specially. But this sense the context will not bear. By all
men, then, may be understood all kinds of persons — Jew, Greek, or
barbarian, high or low, rich or poor. God giveth not with a respect
to outward excellency ; he giveth to all men : or else, (3.) and so most
suitably to the context, to all askers, all that seek him with earnestness
and trust; however, it is thus generally expressed, that none might
be discouraged, but apply himself to God with some hope.

Liberally. — The word in the original is aTrXw?, which properly signi-
fieth simply, but usually in matters of this nature it is taken for
bountifully. I note it the rather to explain many other places ; as
Mat. vi. 22 : Christ would have the ' eye single/ that is, bounteous,
not looking after the money we part with : so Eom. xii. 8, ' He that
giveth, let him do it ev aTrXoryri,, with simplicity/ we read, but in the
margin, ' liberally, or bountifully/ So Acts ii. 46, ' They did eat their
bread with all singleness of heart ; ' that is, bounteously, liberally, as
we translate the word in other places, as 2 Cor. viii. 2, ' The riches
of your singleness,' we translate ' liberality : ' so 2 Cor. ix. 11, the
same word is used for bounty ; and this word simplicity is so often put
for 'bounty, to show — (1.) That it must come from the free and single
motion of our hearts ; as they that give sparingly give with a hand
half shut and a heart half willing ; that is, not simply, with a native
and free motion. (2.) That we must not give deceitfully, as serving
our own ends, or with another intent than our bounty seemeth to hold
forth : so God gives simply, that is, as David expresseth it, 2 Sam.
vii. 21, according to his own heart.

Andupbraideth no man. — Here he reproveth another usual blemish
of man's bounty, which is to upbraid others with what they have done
for them, and that eateth out all the worth of a kindness : the laws
of courtesy requiring that the receiver should remember, and the
giver forget : 1 but God upbraideth riot. But you will say, what is the
meaning then of those expostulations concerning mercies received?
and why is it said, Mat. xi. 20, ' Then he began to upbraid the cities,
in which many of his mighty works were done ' ? Because of this
objection, some ^ expound this clause one way, some another; some
suppose it implieth he doth not give proudly, as men use to do, up
braiding those that receive with their words or looks : so God up
braideth not, that is, doth not disdainfully reject the asker, or twit him
with his unworthiness, or doth not refuse because of present failings,

i 'Hsec beneficii inter duos lex est, alter oblivisci debet datistatim, alter accept! nun-
quam.' — Sen. de Beneficiis.

JAS. I. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 39

or former infirmities. But I think it rather noteth God's indefati-
gableness to do good : ask as oft as you will, he upbraideth you not
with the frequency of your accesses to him : he doth not twit us with
asking, though he twitteth us with the abuse of what we have re
ceived upon asking. He doth upbraid, not to begrudge his own
bounty, but to bring us to a sense of our shame, and to make us own
our ingratitude.

And it shall be given him. — Besides the nature of God, here he
urgeth a promise, ' Let him ask of God, and it shall be given him/
The descriptions of God help us to form right thoughts of him, and
the promise, to fasten upon him by a sure trust.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That all men are concluded and shut up under an estate of
lacking : ' If any of you.' This supposition, as we showed before, is
a universal affirmative. God's wisdom suffereth the creatures to lack,
because dependence begetteth observance; if we were not forced to
hang upon heaven, and live upon the continued supplies of God, we
would not care for him. We see this — the less sensible men are of the
condition of mankind, the less religious. Promises usually invite
those that are in want, because they are most likely to regard them :
Isa. Iv. 1. ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, and he that hath no money ; '
Mat. xi. 28, ' The weary and heavy laden.' In the 5th of Matthew,
' The poor in spirit/ and ' they that hunger and thirst after righteous
ness : ' being humbled by their own wants and needs, they are most
pliable to God's offers. Well, then, do not think your lot is above the
lot of the rest of the creatures. God only is avTap/cys, self-happy, self-
sufficient; other things are encompassed with wants, that they may
look after him: Ps. cxlv. 15, 16, 'The eyes of all things are upon
thee, and thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing/ The crea
tures are made up of desires, that their eyes may be upon God.
Certainly they want most that want nothing : be sensible of your con
dition.

Obs. 2. From that lack, want and indigence put us upon prayer,
and our addresses to heaven begin at the sense of our own needs.
The father should not have heard from the prodigal, had he not ' begun
to be in want,' Luke xv. 16. Observe it : the creature first beginneth
with God out of self-love. The first motive and allurement is the
supply of our wants. But, remember, it is better to begin in the
flesh and end in the spirit, than to begin in the spirit and end in the
flesh. It is well that God sanctifieth our self-love to so blessed a
purpose. If there had not been so many miseries, of blindness,
lameness, possessions, palsies, in the days of Christ's flesh, there
would not have been such great resort to him. The first motive is
want.

Obs. 3. From that wisdom, considered with respect to the con
text ; and the note is, that there is need of great wisdom for the right
managing of afflictions. Cheerful patience is a holy art and skill
which a man learneth of God : ' I have learned to abound, and to be
abased/ Phil. iv. 10. Such an hard lesson needeth much learning.
There is need of wisdom in several respects : — (1.) To discern of God's
end in it, to pick out the language and meaning of the dispensation :

40 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 5.

Micah vi. 9, ' Hear the rod/ Every providence hath a voice, though
sometimes it be so still and low that it requireth some skill to hear
it. Our spirits are most satisfied when we discern God's aim in
everything. (2.) To know the nature of the affliction, whether it be
to fan or to destroy ; how it is intended for our good ; and what uses
and benefits we may make of it : ' Blessed is the man whom thou
chastisest, and teachest out of thy law/ Ps. xciv. 12. The rod is
a blessing when instruction goeth along with it (3.) To find out
your own duty ; to know the things of obedience in the day of them :
' Oh ! that thou wert wise in this thy day/ Luke xix. 41. There are
seasonable and proper duties which become every providence : it is
wisdom to find them out ; to know what to do in every circumstance.
(4.) To moderate the violences of our own passions.1 He that liveth
by sense, will, and passion, is not wise. Skill is required of us to
apply apt counsels and comforts, that our hearts may be above the
misery that our flesh is under. The Lord 'giveth counsel in the
reins/ and that calmeth the heart. Well, then: (1.) Get wisdom, if
you would get patience. Men of understanding have the greatest
command of their affections. Our hastiness of spirit conieth from
folly, Prov. xiv. 29 ; for where there is no wisdom, there is nothing
to counterbalance affection. Look, as discretion sets limits to anger,
so it doth to sorrow. Solomon saith, Prov. xix. 11, 'The discretion
of a man deferreth his anger ; ' so it doth check the excesses of his
grief. (2.) To confute the world's censure ; they count patience, sim
plicity, and meekness under injuries, to be but blockishness and
folly. No ; it is a calmness of mind upon holy arid wise grounds ;
but it is no new thing with the world to call good evil, and to bap
tize graces with a name of their own fancying. As the astronomers
call the glorious stars bulls, snakes, dragons, &c., so they miscall
the most shining and glorious graces. Zeal is fury ; strictness,
nicety ; and patience, folly ! And yet James saith, * If any lack wis
dom/ meaning patience. (3.) Would ye be accounted wise ? Show it
by the patience and calmness of your spirits. We naturally desire to
be thought sinful rather than weak. ' Are we blind also ? ' John ix. 40.
We all affect the repute of wisdom, and would not be accounted
blind or foolish. Consider, a man of boisterous affections is a fool,
and he that hath no command of his passions hath no under
standing.

Ols. 4. From that of God, in all our wants we must, immedi
ately repair to God. The scriptures do not direct us to the shrines of
saints, but to the throne of grace. You need not use the saints' inter
cession ; Christ hath opened a way for you into the presence of the
Father.

Obs. 5. More particularly observe, wisdom must be sought of God.
He is wise, the fountain of wisdom, an unexhausted fountain. His
stock is not spent by misgiving. See Job xxxii. 8, ' There is a spirit
in man ; but the inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding/
Men have the faculty, but God giveth the light, as the dial is capable

1 ' Sapiens ad omnem incursum munitus et intentus, non si paupertas, non si ignonri-
nia, non si dolor impetuna faciant, pedem referet ; iuterritus et contra ilia ibit et inter
ilia.' — Seneca.

JAS. L 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 41

of showing the time of the day when the sun shineth on it. It is a
most spiritual idolatry to * lean to our own understanding.' True
wisdom is a divine ray, and an emanation from God. Men never
obtain it but in the way of a humble trust. When we see our
insufficiency and God's all-sufficiency, then the Lord undertaketh for
us, to direct us and guide us : Prov. iii. 5, 6, ' Acknowledge the Lord
in all thy ways, and he shall direct thy paths/ When men are con
ceited, and think to relieve their souls by their own thoughts and
care, they do but perplex themselves the more. God will be acknow
ledged, that is, consulted with, in all our undertakings and conflicts,
or else we shall miscarry. The better sort of heathens would not
begin anything of moment without asking counsel at the oracle. As
all wisdom is to be sought of God, so especially this wisdom, to bear
afflictions. There is nothing more abhorrent from reason than to
think ourselves happy in misery. We must go to another school
than that of nature. I confess reason and nature may offer some
rules that may carry a man far in the art of patience ; but what is an
inferior or grammar school to a university ? The best way will be,
not to go to nature, but Christ, ' in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge,' Col. ii. 3.

Obs. 6. From that let him ask, God will have everything fetched
out by prayer ; he giveth nothing without asking. It is one of the
laws according to which heaven's bounty is dispensed : Ezek. xxxvi.
37, ' I will be sought to by the house of Israel for this thing/ God
will have us see the author of every mercy by the way of obtaining
it. It is a comfort and a privilege to receive mercies in a way of
duty; it is better to ask and not receive, than to receive and not ask.1
Prayer coming between our desires and the bounty of God is a
means to beget a due respect between him and us: every audience
increaseth love, thanks, and trust, Ps. cxvi. 1, 2. We usually wear
with thanks what we win by prayer ; and those comforts are best im
proved which we receive upon our knees. Well, then, wisdom and
every good gift is an alms — you have it for the asking. Mercies at
'that rate do not cost dear. Oh ! who would not be one of that
number whom God calleth his suppliants ? Zeph. iii. 10 ; of ' the
generation of them that seek him ' ? Ps. xxiv. 6.

Ols. 7. Asking yieldeth a remedy for the greatest wants. Men sit
down groaning under their discouragements, because they do not look
further than themselves. Oh ! you do not know how you may speed
in asking. God humbleth us with much weakness, that he may put
us upon prayer. That is easy to the Spirit which is hard to nature.
God requireth such obedience as is above the power of our natures,
but not above the power of his own grace. It was a good saying
that, Da quodjubes, et jiibe quod vis — Give what thou commandest,
and command what thou wilt. If God command anything above
nature, it is to bring you upon your knees for grace. He loveth to
command that you may be forced to ask; and, indeed, if God hath
commanded, you may be bold to ask. There is a promise goeth
hand-in-hand with every precept : ( Let him ask/

Obs. 8. That giveth.— God's dispensations to the creatures are car-

1 Clem. Alex. lib. vii. Strom.

42 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 0.

ried in the way of a gift. Who can make God his debtor, ad
vantage his being, or perform an act that may be obliging and
meritorious ? Usually God bestoweth most upon those who, in the
eye of the world, are of least desert, and least able to requite him.
Doth not he invite the worst freely ? Isa. Iv. 1, 'He that hath no
money, come and buy, without money and without price.' Nazianzen,1
I remember, notably improveth this place, co TT}? eu^oX/a? rov
crvva\\dy]j,aTos — Oh, this easy way of contract ! SlSao-iv ijSiov TJ
\ayifi avow iv eiepoi — he giveth more willingly than others sell ; WVLOV
crol TO 6e\r/o-ai povov TO a^aOov — if thou wilt but accept, that is all the
price ; though you have no merits, nothing in yourselves to encourage
you, yet will you accept? So in the Gospel, the blind and the lame
were called to the wedding, Mat. xxii. Whatever is dispensed to
such persons must needs be a gift. Well, then, silence all secret
thoughts, as if God did see more in you than others, when he
poureth out more of himself to you. Merit is so gross a conceit, that,
in the light of the gospel, it dareth not appear in so many downright
words ; but there are implicit whisperings, some thoughts which are
verba mentis, the words of the mind, whereby we think that there is
some reason for God's choice ; and therefore it is said, Deut. ix. 4,
4 Say not in thy heart, For my own righteousness : ' as you dare not
say it outwardly, so do not say it in your hearts. Be not conscious
to the sacrilege of a privy silent thought that way.

Obs. 9. To all men. The proposals of God's grace are very general
and universal. It is a great encouragement that in the offer none are
excluded. Why should we, then, exclude ourselves? Matt. xi. 28,
4 Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden/ Mark, poor
soul, Jesus Christ maketh no exceptions. He did not except thee that
hast an heavy load and burden of guilt upon thy back : ' Come, all ye.'
So here ; the lack is general, ' If any ; ' and the supply is general, ' He
giveth to all men/ God never told thee that this was never intended
to thee, and that thy name was left out of the Lamb's book. And it
is a base jealousy to mistrust God without a cause.

Obs. 10. From that liberally, God's gifts are free and liberal.
Many times he giveth more than we ask, and our prayers come far
short of what grace doth for us. There is an imperfect modesty in our
thoughts and requests. We are not able to rise up to the just excess
and infiniteness of the divine goodness. The apostle saith, God will
' do above what we can ask or think,' Eph. iii. 20. As it is good to ob
serve how the answers of prayer have far exceeded the desires of the
creature, which usually are vast and capacious, let me give you some
instances. Solomon asked wisdom, and God gave liberally ; he gave
him wisdom, and riches, and honour in great abundance, 1 Kings iii.
13. Jacob asked but food and raiment for his journey, and God multi-
plieth him from his staff into two bands, Gen. xxviii. 20, with xxxii.
10. Abraham asked but one son, and God gave him issue as the stars
in the heavens, and the sand on the sea-shore. Gen. xv. with xxii. Saul
came to Samuel for the asses, and he heareth news of a kingdom. The
prodigal thought it much to be received as an hired servant, and the
father is devising all the honour and entertainment that possibly he can

1 Greg. Naz. Orat. 40, de Baptismo, circa med.

JAS. I. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 43

for him — the calf, the ring, the robe, &c., Luke xv. In Mat. xviii. 26,
the debtor desired but forbearance for a little time : ' Have a little
patience, and I will pay thee all : ' and in the next verse his master
'forgave the debt.' Certainly God's bounty is too large for our
thoughts. The spouse would be drawn after Christ, but the King
brought her into his chambers, Cant. i. 4. David desired to be de
livered out of the present danger : Ps. xxxi. 4, ' Pull me out of the
net ; ' and God advanced him to honour and dignity : * Thou hast put
my feet in a large room/ ver. 8. Well, then : (1.) Do not straiten God
in your thoughts : * Open your mouths, and I will fill them,' Ps. Ixxxi.
10. God's hand is open, but our hearts are not open. The divine
grace, like the olive-trees in Zechariah, is always dropping ; but we
want a vessel. That expression of the virgin is notable : Luke i. 46,
' My heart doth magnify the Lord/ peyaXvvei, that is, make more
room for God in my thoughts. When God's bounty is not only ever-
flowing, but overflowing, we should make our thoughts and hopes as
large and comprehensive as possibly they can be. When the King of
glory is drawing nigh, they are bidden to set open the doors, Ps. xxiv.
7. No thoughts of ours can search out God to perfection ; that is,
exhaust and draw out all the excellency and glory of the Godhead ;
but certainly we should rise and ascend more in our apprehensions.
(2.) Let us imitate our heavenly Father, give liberally, avrXw? — that
is the word of the text — with a free and a native bounty : give
simply, not with a double mind. Some men have a backward and a
close heart, liberal only in promises. Consider, God doth not feed
you with empty promises. Others eye self in all their kindness, make
a market of their charity;1 this is not simply, and according to the
divine pattern. Some men give grudgingly, with a divided mind, half
inclining, half forbearing ; this is not like God neither. Others give
in guile, and to deceive men ; 2 it is kindness to their hurt, £%>a a^wpa,
giftless gifts ; — their courtesy is most dangerous.3 Give like your
heavenly Father, liberally, simply.

Obs. 11. From that and upbraidetli not. Men are apt to do so, but
God giveth in another manner. Observe from hence, First, in the
general, that God giveth quite in another manner than man doth. It
is our fault to measure infiniteness by our last, and to muse of God
according as we use ourselves. The soul, in all her conclusions, is
directed by principles and premises of sense and experience ; and
because we converse with limited natures and dispositions, therefore
we do not form proper and worthy thoughts of God. It was the gross
idolatry of the heathens to ' turn the glory of the incorruptible God
into the image of a man/ Rom. i. 23; that is, to fancy God according to
the shape and figure of our bodies. And so it is the spiritual idolatry
of Christians to fancy God according to the model and size of their own
minds and dispositions. I am persuaded there doth nothing disadvan
tage us so much in believing as this conceit that ' God is altogether
like ourselves/ Ps. 1. 21. We, being of eager and revengeful spirits,
cannot believe his patience and pardoning mercy ; and that, I suppose,

TJ "X.O-PLV iroiovcriv.' — Isocrates.
2 ' Non est sportula quce negotiatur.' — Martial.
8 Timeo Danaos, et dona ferentes.

44 AN EXPOSITION. WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 5,

was the reason why the apostles (when Christ talked of forgiving our
brother seven times in one day), cried out, Luke xvii. 5, ' Lord, in
crease our faith/ as not being able to believe so great a pardoning
mercy either in themselves or God. And therefore, also, I suppose it
is that God doth with such veheinency show everywhere that his heart
hath other manner of dispositions than man's hath : Isa. Iv. 8, 9, 'My
thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor my ways as your ways ; as far
as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your
thoughts : ' I am not straitened in bowels, nor hardened, nor implacable,
as men are ; as there is a vast space and distance between the earth
and the firmament, so between your drop and my ocean. So Hosea xi.
9, ' I am God, and not man ; and therefore Ephraim shall not be de
stroyed ; ' that is, I have not such a narrow heart, such wrathful im
placable dispositions as men have. Well, then, consider^ when God
giveth, he will give like himself. Do not measure him by the
wretched straitness of your own hearts, and confine God within the
circle of the creatures. It is said of Araunah that he gave as a king
to David, 2 Sam. xxiv. 23. Whatever God doth, he will do as a God,
above the rate and measure of the creatures, something befitting the
infiniteness and eternity of his own essence.

Obs. 12. From the same clause, upbraideth not, you may more
particularly observe, that God doth not reproach his people with the
frequency of their addresses to him for mercy, and is never weary
doing them good. It is man's use to excuse himself by what he hath
done already. They will recount their former favours to deny the
present requests. Men's stock is soon spent ; they waste by giving,
and therefore they soon grow weary. Yea, we are afraid to press a friend
too much, lest, by frequent use, kindness be worn out. You know it
is Solomon's advice, Prov. xxv, 17, ' Let thy foot be seldom in thy
neighbour's house, lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee/ Thus
it is with men ; either oat of penury or satiety, they are soon full of
their friends. But oh ! what a difference there is between our earthly
and our heavenly friend. The oftener we come to God, the welcomer ;
and the more we ' acquaint ourselves with him/ the more ' good
cometh to us/ Job xxii. 21. His gates are always open, and he is still
ready to receive us. We need not be afraid to urge God to the next
act of love and kindness : 2 Cor. i. 10, ' Who delivered us from so
great a death, and doth deliver ; in whom we trust that he will yet
deliver us.' One mercy is but a step to another, and if God hath, we
may again trust that he ivitt. With men, renewed addresses and often
visitings are but impudence, but with God they are confidence. God is
so far from upbraiding us with what he hath done already, that his
people make it their usual argument, ' He hath delivered me from the
lion and the bear, therefore he shall from the uncircumcised Philistine/
1 Sam. xvii. 37. Well, then : (1.) Whenever you receive mercy upon
mercy, give the Lord the praise of his unwearied love. When God
promised to keep up honour upon honour, and privilege upon privilege
on David and his line, David saith, 2 Sam. vii. 19, ' And is this the
manner of man, 0 Lord God ? ' Would man do thus ? Is this ac
cording to his use and custom, to grant request after request, and to
let his grace run in the same eternal tenor of love and sweetness ?

JAS. I. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 45

Should we .go to man as often as we go to God, we should soon have a
repulse, but we cannot weary infiniteness. (2.) If God be not weary of
blessing you, be not you weary of serving him. Duty is the proper cor
relate of mercy. God is not weary of blessing, so be not you ' weary of
well-doing,' Gal. vi. 9. Let not your zeal and heat be spent, as his
bounty is not.

Obs. 13. From that and it shall be given him. Due asking will
prevail with God. God always satisfieth prayer, though he doth not
always satisfy carnal desires : ' Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek,
and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened to you,' Mat. vii. 7.
If we do not receive at asking, let us go to seeking ; if not at seeking,
let us go on to knocking. It is good to continue fervency till we have
an answer. But you will say, Are these promises true ? The sons of
Zebedee, they asked, and could not find, Mat. xx. 22. The foolish
virgins, they knocked, and it was not opened to them, Mat. xxv. 8. So
the church seeketh Christ :*Cant iii. 1, ' By night on my bed I sought
him whom my soul loveth ; I sought him, and found him not.' How,
then, can these words of Christ be made good? I shall answer by
stating the general case. Prayers rightly qualified want not success ;
that is, if they come from a holy heart, in a holy manner, to a holy
purpose. I remember one prettily summeth up all the requisites of
prayer thus, Si bonum petant boni, bene, ad bonum.1 These are the
limitations: (1.) Concerning the person. God looketh after, not only
the property of the prayer, but the propriety and interest of the person.
Our apostle, chap. v. 16, ' The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much,' Se^crt? evepyov/^evrj — a prayer driven with much
force and vehemency ; but it must be of a righteous person. The
Jews propound it as a known rule, John ix. 31, * God heareth not
sinners.' It is so frequently inculcated in scripture, that they urge
it as a proverb — An unclean person polluteth his own prayers. But of
this hereafter. (2.) That which they ask must be good : 1 John v.
14, ' Whatever we ask according to his will, he heareth us/ It must
be according to his revealed will, that is obedience ; and with submis
sion to his secret will, that is patience — neither according to our own
lusts, nor our own fancies. To ask according to our lusts is an im
plicit blasphemy, like Balaam's sacrifices, performed out of a hope to
draw heaven into the confederacy of his cursed designs. And to make
our fancy the highest rule is a presumptuous folly. God knoweth what
is best for us. Like children, we desire a knife ; like a wise Father he
giveth us bread. God always heareth his people when the request is
good. But we must remember God must judge what is good, not we
ourselves. There cannot be a greater judgment than always to have
our own will granted.2 (3.) We must ask in a right manner, with faith,
as in the next verse ; with fervency, see chap. v. 16 ; with patience and
constancy, waiting for God's time and leisure. God's discoveries of
himself are not by-aiid-by to the creature. A sack stretched out con-

1 Grotius in Annot. in Mat. xviii. 19.

2 ' Sancti ad salutem per omnia exaudiuntur, sed non ad voluntatem, ad voluntatem
etiam Dsemones exauditi sunt, etad porcos quos petiverant ire missi sunt.' — Aug. in Epist.
Johan. tract. 6. So also (Serm. 53, de Verbis Domini), ' Quid prosit medicus novit, non
segrotus.'

46 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 6.

taineth the more ; and when the desires are extended and drawn out
to God, the mercy is usually the greater : Ps. xl. 1, 'I waited patiently
for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry/ God loveth
to dispense mercies after our waiting. (4.) It must be ad lonum ; you
must pray to a good end, with an aim and reference to the Lord's glory.
There is a difference between a carnal desire and a gracious supplica
tion : James iv. 3, ' You ask and have not, because you ask amiss, to
spend it on your lusts/ Never let your requests terminate in self. That
was but a brutish request, Exod. xvii. 2, ' Give us water that we may
drink/ A beast can aim at self-preservation. Prayer, as every act of
the Christian life, must have an ordination to God. Well, then, pray
thus, and you shall be sure to speed. Carnal requests are often dis
appointed, and therefore we suspect gracious prayers, and faith is
much shaken by the disappointment of a rash confidence. Consider
that, John xvi. 23, ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you ask
the Father in my name, he shall give it you/ Mark, Christ speaketh
universally, ' whatsoever/ to raise our hopes ; earnestly, ' verily,
verily/ to encourage our faith. We are apt to disbelieve such promises.

Obs. 14. Lastly, from that it shall be given. He bringeth an
encouragement not only from the nature of God, but the promise of
God. It is an encouragement in prayer, when we consider there is
not only bounty in God, but bounty engaged by promise. What good
will the general report do without a particular invitation ? There is
a rich King giveth freely ; ay ! but he giveth at pleasure ; no, he hath
promised to give to thee. The psalmist argueth from God's nature,
* Thou art good, and dost good/ Ps. cxix. 68. But from the promise
we may reason thus, ' Thou art good, and shalt do good/ God at
large, and discovered to you in loose attributes, doth not yield a suffi
cient foundation for trust ; but God in covenant, God as ours. Well,
then, let the world think what it will of prayer, it is not a fruitless
labour : you have promises for prayer, and promises to prayer ; and
therefore when you pray for a blessing promised, God doth, as it were,
come under another engagement : ' Ask, and it shall be given/

Ver. 6. But let him ask in faith, nothing ivavering ; for he that
wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the ivind and tossed.

Here he proposeth a caution, to prevent mistakes about what he had
delivered : every asking will not serve the turn ; it must be an asking
in faith.

But let him ask in faith. — Faith may be taken — (1.) For confidence
in God, or an act of particular trust, as Eph. iii. 12 :' We have bold
ness and access with confidence through the faith of him/ (2.) It may
import persuasion of the lawfulness of the things that we ask for ; that is
one acceptation of faith in scripture, Kom. xiv. 23 : ' Whatever is not
of faith, is sin ; ' that is, if we practise it before we are persuaded of
the lawfulness of it. Or, (3.) In faith, that is, in a state of believing ;
for God will hear none but his own, those that have interest in Jesus
Christ, ' in whom the promises are yea and amen/ 2 Cor. i. 20. All
these senses are considerable, but I think the first is most direct and
formal ; for faith is here opposed to doubting and wavering, and so
noteth a particular act of trust.

Nothing wavering, ^ev Siatcpivopwo?.— What is this wavering f

JAS. I. 6.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 47

The word signifieth not disputing or traversing the matter as doubt
ful in the thoughts. The same phrase is used Acts x. 20, * Arise, go
with them, jArjSev Sia/cpivo/jLevos, nothing doubting ; ' that is, do not
stand disputing in thy thoughts about thy calling and the good suc
cess of it. The word is often used in the matter of believing ; as Rom.
iv. 20, 'He staggered not through unbelief; in the original ov
8i€KpL0rjt 'He disputed not/ did not debate the matter, but settled
his heart upon God's power and promise : Mat. xxi. 21 : 'If ye have
faith, and doubt not, ye shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed
into the depths of the sea/ &c. If they could but remove the anxious-
ness and uncertainty of their thoughts, and settle their hearts upon
the warrant, they should do miracles.

For lie that doubtetli is like a wave of the sea, that is tossed to and
fro. — An elegant similitude to set out their estate, used by common
authors in the same matter,1 and by the prophet Isaiah, chap. Ivii.
20. James saith here, the doubter, eouee K\vBa>vt,, is ' like a wave of
the sea ; ' and the prophet saith of all wicked men, K\v8ovi(r6)ja-ovTat
(as the Septuagint render it), ' These shall be like troubled waves,
whose waters cannot rest/

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That the trial of a true prayer is the faith of it. Cursory
requests are made out of fashion, not in faith ; men pray, but do not
consider the bounty of him to whom they pray : prayer is a means,
not a task ; therefore, in prayer there should be distinct reflections
upon the success of it. Well, then, look to your prayers ; see you put
them up with a particular hope and trust ; all the success lieth on
that : ' 0 woman I great is thy faith ; be it to thee as thou wilt/
Mat. xv. 28 : God can deny faith nothing ; ' Be it to you as you will/
So Mark xi. 24, ' Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe
that ye shall receive them, and ye shall have them/ Mark that, ' Be
lieve, and ye shall have/ God's attributes, when they are glorified,
they are exercised, and by our trust his truth and power is engaged.
But you will say, How shall we do to pray in faith ? I answer — There
is something presupposed, and that is an interest in Christ. But that
which is required in every prayer is : —

1. An actual reliance upon the grace and merits of Jesus Christ :
Eph. ii. 18, ' Through him we have access with confidence unto the
Father/ We cannot lift up a thought of hope and trust but by him.
If you have not assurance, yet go out of yourselves, and look for your
acceptance in his merits. Certainly this must be done ; none can pray
aright but believers. How can they comfortably be persuaded of a
blessing, that have never a promise belonging to them ? Therefore,
at least you must honour Christ in the duty : you must see that such
worthless creatures as you may be accepted in him : Heb. iv. 16, ' Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find help in time of need/ Through Christ we may come
freely and boldly : I am a sinner, but Jesus Christ, my intercessor, is
righteous. Men will say, they do not doubt of God, but of them
selves : I am a wretched sinner, will the Lord hear me ? I answer —

1 ' Turbo quidam animos nostros rotat, et involvit f ugientes petentesque eadeni, et
nunc in sublime allevatos, nunc in infima allisos rapit.' — Seneca de Vita Beata.

48 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 6.

This is but Satan's policy to make us say we doubt of ourselves^ not
of God ; for, in effect, it is a doubting of God ; of his mercy, as if it
were not free enough to pardon and save ; of his power, as if it were
not great enough to help. We must come humbly ; we are sinners :
but we must come in faith also; Christ is a Saviour: it is our folly,
under colour of humbling ourselves, to have low thoughts of God. If
we had skill, we should see that all graces, like the stones in the
building, have a marvellous symmetry and compliance one with
another ; and we may come humbly, yet boldly in Christ.

2. We must put up no prayer but what we can put up in faith :
prayer must be regulated by faith, and faith must not wander out of
the limits of the word. If you have a promise, you may be confident
that your requests will be heard, though in God's season : you cannot
put up a carnal desire in faith. The apostle's words are notably perti
nent to state this matter : 1 John v. 14, ' This is the confidence that
we have concerning him, that if we ask anything according to his will,
he heareth us.' All things are to be asked in faith; some things
absolutely, as spiritual blessings, — I mean, as considered in their
essence, not degree. Degrees are arbitrary. Other things condition
ally, as outward blessings. Let the prayer be according to the word,
and the success will be according to the prayer.

3. The soul must actually magnify God's attributes in every prayer,
and distinctly urge them against the present doubt and fear. Usually
we do not doubt for want of a clear promise, but out of low thoughts
of God ; we cannot carry his love, power, truth, above the present
temptation, and believe that there is love enough to justify us from
so many sins, power enough to deliver us from so great a death or
danger, 2 Cor. i. 10 ; and bounty enough to bestow so great a mercy.
This is to pray in faith, to form proper and right thoughts of God in
prayer, when we see there is enough to answer the particular doubt
and exigency : as Mat. viii. 28, 29, Jesus saith to the two blind men,
' Believe ye that I am able to do this ? and they said, Yea, Lord :
then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto
you.' Christ asked first whether they had a right estimation of his
power, and then, in the next place, he calleth it faith, and gave them
the blessing. Those that come to God had need conceive rightly of
him ; Christ requireth nothing more of the blind man but a sealing
to the greatness of his power. 'Believest thou that I am able?'
* Yea, Lord ; ' and that was all. But you will say, Tell us more dis
tinctly, what faith is required in every prayer ? I answer — The ques
tion has been in a great part already answered.

But, for further satisfaction, take these rules : — [1.] That where we
have a certain promise, we must no way doubt of his will ; for the
doubt must either proceed from a suspicion that this is not the word
or will of God, and that is atheism ; or from a jealousy that God will
not. make good his word, and that is blasphemy ; or a fear that he is
not able to accomplish his will, and that is downright distrust and
unbelief. Therefore, where we have a clear sight of his will in the
promise, we may have a confidence towards him, 1 John v. 14.

[2.] Where we have no certain assurance of his will, the work of faith
is to glorify and apply his power. Unbelief stumbleth most at that,

JAS. I. 6.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 49

rather at God's can than will ; as appeareth partly by experience. —
Fears come upon us only when means fail and the blessings expected
are most unlikely ; which argueth that it is not the uncertainty of God's
will, but the misconceit of his power, that maketh u» doubt. The pre
sent dangers arid difficulties surprise us with such a terror that we
cannot comfortably use the help of prayer out of a faith in God's
power : — partly by the testimony of the scriptures. Search, and you
shall find that God's power and all-sufficiency is the first ground and
reason of faith. Abraham believed, because ' God was able to per
form/ Kom. iv. 21. And that unbelief expresseth itself in such
language as implieth a plain distrust of God's power ; as Ps. Ixxviii.
19, ' Can the Lord prepare a table in the wilderness ?' It is not ivill,
but can : 2 Kings vii. 2, ' If the Lord should open the windows of
heaven, how can this be ?' So the Virgin Mary : Luke i. 34, ' How
can these things be ? ' and so in many other instances. Men deceive
themselves when they think they doubt because they know not the
will of God : their main hesitancy is at his power. Look, as in the
case of conversion, we pretend a cannot, when indeed we will not; l so,
oppositely, in the case of faith, we pretend we know not God's will,
when we indeed doubt of his can. Therefore the main work of your
faith is to give him the glory of his power, leaving his will to himself.
Christ putteth you, as he did the blind men (Mat. ix. 28), to the
question, ' Am I able ?' Your souls must answer, * Yea, Lord.' And
in prayer you must come as the leper : Mat. viii. 2, ' Lord, if thou
wilt, thou canst make me clean/ Whether he grant you or not,
believe ; that is, say in your thoughts, Lord, thou canst.

[3.] In these cases, his power is not only to be glorified, but also his
love. But you will say, in an uncertain case, How must we glorify
his love? I answer — Two ways; faith hath a double work. (1.)
To compose the soul to a submission to God's pleasure. He is so
good, that you may refer yourself to his goodness. Whether he grant
or not, he is a wise God and a loving father, and will do what is best ;
so that, you see, in no case we must dispute, but refer ourselves to
God, as the leper was not troubled about God's will, but said, 'Lord,
thou canst/ Cast yourselves upon his will, but conjure him by his
power ; this is the true and genuine working of faith. When you
dare leave your case with God's love, ' let him do what seemeth good
in his eyes,' good he will do ; as in scripture the children of God in
all temporal matters do resign themselves to his disposal, for they
know his heart is full of love, and that is best which their heavenly
Father thinketh best, and this taketh off the disquiet and perplexity of
the spirit : Prov. xvi. 3, ' Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy
thoughts shall be established/ They wait with serenity when they
have committed their works to God's will with submission. (2.) To
incline and raise the soul into some hope of the mercy prayed for.
Hope is the fountain of endeavours, and we should neither pray nor
wait upon God were it not that we may look up to him because there
is hope, Lam. iii. 29. The hypocrite's prejudice was, * It is in vain
to seek God/ Job xxi. 15. There are some particular promises, you
know, concerning preservation in times of pestilence, oppression,

1 ' Non posse praetenditur, non velle in causa est.' — Seneca.
VOL. IV. D

50 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 6.

famine, &c. (Mai. iii. 14), which, though they are not always made
good in the rigour of the letter, yet they are in a great measure ful
filled, and eVl TO TrXeto-roz^, for the most part take place. I say, though
they are to be expounded with the exception and reservation of the
cross (for God is no further obliged than he is obliged by the covenant
of grace, and in the covenant of grace he hath still kept a liberty of
' visiting their iniquity with rods,' Ps. Ixxxix. 33), yet because the
children of God have many experiences of their accomplishment, they
cannot choose but conceive some hope towards God, and incline rather
to think that God will grant. The least that these promises do is to
beget some loose hope, they being so express to our case, and being so
often accomplished. Nay, how can we urge these in prayer to a good
God, and not say, as David, ' Remember thy word unto thy servant,
wherein thou hast caused rne to hope/ Ps. cxix. 49 ? I do not say we
should prescribe to God, and limit his will to our thoughts, but only
conceive a hope with submission, because of the general reservation
of the cross.

[4.] Some, that have more near communion with God, may have a
particular faith of some particular occurrences. By some special
instincts in prayer from the Spirit of God they have gone away and
said with David, Ps. xxvii. 3, ' In this I will be confident/ I do
not say it is usual, but sometimes it may be so ; we cannot abridge
the Spirit of his liberty of revealing himself to his people. But,
remember, privileges do not make rules ; these are acts of God's
prerogative, not according to his standing law and rule. However,
this I conceive is common : that, in a particular case, we may conceive
the more hope, when our hearts have been drawn out to God by an
actual trust ; that is, when we have urged a particular promise to God
in prayer with submission, yet with hope ; for God seldom faileth a
trusting soul. They may lay hold on God by virtue of a double
claim ; partly by virtue of the single promise that first invited them
to God, and then by virtue of another promise made to their trust ;
as Isa. xxvi. 3, ' Thou keepest him in perfect peace who putteth his
trust in^thee, because he trusteth in thee/ An ingenious man will not
disappoint trust ; and God saith, eo nomine, for that reason, because
they trust in him, he will do them good; therefore, now having
glorified God's power, and with hope referred themselves to his will,
they have a new argument of hope within themselves. It is notable
that in Ps. xci. 2, 3, there is a dialogue between the Spirit of God and
a believing soul. The soul saith, ' I will say of the Lord, he is my
refuge and my fortress, my God ; in him will I trust/ There is a
resolution of a humble and actual trust. The Spirit answereth,
yer. 3, ' Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and
from a noisome pestilence/ There is a promise under an averment,
surely, which certainly would do nothing, if it did not at the least
draw out the more hope.

Thus I have given you my thoughts of this common and useful
case, — praying in faith.

Obs. 2. From that nothing wavering, or disputing, as it is in the
original, man's nature is much given to disputes against the grace
and promises of God. The pride of reason will not stoop to a re vela-

JAS. I. 6.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 51

tion ; and where we have no assurance but the divine testimony, there
we are apt to cavil. All doubts are but disputes against a promise ;
therefore what is said in our translation, ' Lift up pure hands, without
wrath and doubting' (1 Tim. ii. 8), is in the original %o>/ot? &aXo7io-//,ou,
without reasoning or dispute. A sure word is committed to the
uncertainty of our thoughts and debates, and God's promises ascited
before the tribunal of our reason. Well, then, cast down those \OJLO--
povs, those imaginations, or reasonings rather (for so the word pro
perly signifieth), which exalt themselves against the knowledge of God
in Christ. Carnal reason is faith's worst enemy. It is a great advan
tage when we can make reason, that is an enemy to faith, to be a
servant to it; \oyi%€a-6e, saith the apostle: Kom. vi. 11, ' Beckon, or
reason yourselves to be dead to sin, and alive to God.' Then is our
reason and discourse well employed, when it serveth to set on and urge
conclusions of faith.

Obs. 3. From the same — That the less we doubt, the more we come
up to the nature of true faith. The use of grace is to settle the heart
upon God ; to be fast and loose argueth weakness : ' Why doubt ye,
0 ye of little faith ?' I do not say it is no faith, but it is a weak
faith : a trembling hand may hold somewhat, but faintly. Well, then,
seek to lay aside your doubts and carnal debates, especially in prayer ;
corne ' without wrath and doubting : ' without wrath to a God of peace,
without doubting to a God of mercy. Do not debate whether it be
better to cast yourselves upon God's promise and disposal, or to leave
yourselves to your own. carnal care ; that is no faith when the heart
wavereth between hopes and fears, help and God. Our Saviour saith,
Luke xii. 29, fjurj f^erewpi^eo-de, ' Be not of doubtful mind, what ye
shall eat and drink ; ' do not hang between two, like a meteor hovering
in the air (so the word signifieth), not knowing what God will do for
you. A thorough belief of God's attributes, as revealed in Christ,
taketh off all disquiets and perplexities of spirit. Well, then, get a
clear interest in Christ, and a more distinct apprehension of God's
attributes. Ignorance perplexeth us, and filleth the soul with misty
dark reasonings ; but faith settleth the soul, and giveth it a greater
constancy.

Obs. 4. From that like a wave of the sea, tossed to and fro,
doubts are perplexing, and torment the mind. An unbeliever is like
the waves of the sea, always rolling ; but a believer is like a tree,
much shaken, but firm at root. We are under misery and bondage
as long as we are tossed upon the waves of our own affections ; and
till faith giveth a certainty, there is no rest and peace in the soul :
* Keturn to thy rest, 0 my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with
thee/ Ps. cxvi. 7. Faith shedding abroad God's love in our sense
and feeling, begetteth a calm : they that teach a doctrine of doubting
— exercent carnificinam animarum, saith Calvin — they do but keep con
science upon the rack, and leave men to the torment of their own dis
tracted thoughts. Romish locusts are like scorpions (Rev. ix. 10), with
' stings in their tails ; ' and ' men shall desire death' (ver. 6) that are
stung with them. Antichristian doctrines yield no comfort and ease
to the conscience, but rather sting it and wound it, that, to be freed
from their anxiety, men would desire to die. Certainly there cannot

52 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 7.

be a greater misery than for man to be a burden and a terror to him
self ; and there is no torment like that of our own thoughts. Well,
then, go to God, and get your spirit settled : he that cherisheth his
own doubts doth but hug a distemper instead of a duty. ^

Ver. 7. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything
of the Lord.

Let him not think— It is either put to show that they can look for
nothing, nor rise up into any confidence before God ; he doth not say,
' He shall receive nothing/ but * Let not that man think he shall
receive;' whatever God's overflowing bounty may give them, they
can expect nothing. Or else, ' Let not that man think/ to check
their vain hopes. Man deceiveth himself, and would fain seduce
his soul into the way of a carnal hope ; therefore, saith the apostle,
'Let not that man think/ that is, deceive himself with a vain
surmise.

That he shall receive anything. — Such doubting as endeth not in
faith frustrateth prayers, and maketh them altogether vain and fruit
less. There are doubts in the people of God, but they get the victory
over them ; and, therefore, it is not to be understood as if any doubt
did make us incapable of any blessing, but only such as is allowed
and prevaileth.

Of the Lord, irapa rov Kvplov ; that is, from Christ ; Lord, in
the idiom of the New Testament, being most usually applied to him,
as mediator ; and Christ as mediator is to commend our prayers to
God, and to convey all blessings from God ; therefore, the apostle
saith, 1 Cor. viii. 6, 'To us there is but one God, the Father of all,
by whom are all things, and we in him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom are all things, and we by him.' The heathens, as they had
many gods, many ultimate objects of worship, so they had many
lords, many intermediate powers, that were to be as agents between
the gods and men, to convey the prayers and supplications of men to
the gods, and the bounty and rewards of devotion from the gods to
men ; * But to us/ saith the apostle, ' there is but one God/ one
sovereign God, ' the Father/ the first spring and fountain of blessings ;
4 and one Lord/ that is, one Mediator, ' Jesus Christ, St ov ra Trdvra
Kal rjfjieis Si avrov, by whom are all things ' which come from the
Father to us, and by whom alone we find access to him.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That unbelievers, though they may receive something, yet
they can expect nothing from God. Let him not think They are
under a double misery :—(!.) They can lift up no thoughts of hope
and comfort, for they are not under the assurance of a promise. Oh,
what a misery is this, to toil, and still to be left to an uncertainty—
to pray, and to have no sure hope ! When the task is over, they
cannot look for acceptance or a blessing. The children of God are
upon^ more sure terms : 1 Cor. ix. 26, ' I run not as uncertainly ; '
that is, not as one that is in danger or doubt of having run in vain.
So Solomon saith, Prov. xi. 18, ' The righteous hath a sure reward ; '
they have God's infallible promise, and may expect a blessing ; but
the wicked, whether they run or sit, they cannot form their thoughts
into any hope ; whether they run, or sit still, they are in the same

JAS. I. 7.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 53

condition;1 if they run, they run uncertainly; if they pray, they
pray uncertainly ; like a slave that doth his task, and knoweth not
whether he shall please ; so, when they have done all, they are still
left to the puzzle and uncertainty of their own thoughts ; and indeed
it is a punishment that well enough suiteth with their dispositions ;
they pray, and do not look after the success of prayer ; they perform
duties, and do not observe the blessing of duties, like children that
shoot their arrows at rovers, with an uncertain aim, and never look
after them again. Those that live best among carnal men, live by
guess, and some loose devout aims. (2.) If they receive anything,
they cannot look upon it as coming by promise, or as a return of
prayers. When the children are fed, the dogs may have crumbs : all
their comforts are but the spillings and overflowings of God's bounty.
And truly this is a great misery, when we cannot see love in our
enjoyments, and blessings are given us by chance rather than cove
nant ; they cannot discern mercy and truth in any of their comforts,
as Jacob did,' Gen. xxxii. 10. Well, then, let the misery of this con
dition make us to come out of it ; get a sure interest in Christ, that
you may be under a sure hope and expectation. Unbelief will always
leave you to uncertainty ; doubting is a new provocation, and when a
man maketh a supplication a provocation, what can he look for ? A
man may be ashamed to ask God, that is so backward to honour him.
Obs. 2. From the other reason of the words, let him not think.
Men usually deceive themselves with vain hopes and thoughts : they
are out in their thinking : Mat. iii. 9, ' Think not to say within your
selves, We have Abraham to our father.' Carnal confidence is rooted
in some vain principle and thought ; so men think God is not just,
hell is not so hot, the devil is not so black, nor the scriptures so strict
as they are made to be. The apostles everywhere meet with these
carnal thoughts ; asl Cor. vi. 9, * Be not deceived; neither fornicators,
nor adulterers, nor idolaters/ &c. They were apt to deceive them
selves with some such hope ; so Gal. vi. 7, ' Be not deceived, God is
not mocked.' Men are persuaded that if they can devise any shift to
excuse themselves from duty, all will be well enough. God is not
mocked with any pretences ; this is but a vain thought. Well, then,
look to your privy thoughts. All corrupt actions are founded in some
vain thought, and this vain thought is strengthened with some vain
word ; therefore the apostle saith, Eph. v. 6, ' Let no man deceive
you with vain words.' All practical errors are but a man's natural
thoughts cried up for a valuable opinion, and they all tend either to
excuse sin, or to secure us from judgment, or to seduce us into a vain
hope ; and thus foolish man becometh his own cheater, and deceiveth
himself with his own thinking. In all natural and civil things we
desire to know the truth ; many do deceive, but none would willingly
be deceived ; 2 but in spiritual things we think ourselves never more
happy than when we have seduced our souls into a vain hope, or
gotten them into a fool's paradise.

1 ' T6 ffTdScov HfpiK\rjs dr ZSpa.fj.ev, dr e/cdtfi/ro,

OuSeis oldevoXws' Saiju.6ftos jSpaSi/rijs.' — GTCEC. Epigram.

2 ' Gaudium de veritate ormies volunt, multos expertus sum qui velint fallere, qui
au tern f alii nerninem.' — Aug. lib. a;. Confes. cap. 13.

54 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 7.

•Obs. 3. From that, that lie shall receive. The cause why we
receive not upon asking, is not from God, but ourselves ; he ' giveth
liberally/ but we pray doubtingly. He would give, but we cannot
receive. We see men are discouraged when they are distrusted, and
suspicion is the ready way to make them unfaithful ; and, certainly,
when we distrust God, it is not reasonable we should expect aught
from him. Christ said to Martha, John xi. 40, ' If thou wouldst
believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God ;' that is, power, love,
truth, discovered in their lustre and glory. Omnipotency knoweth no
restraint, only it is discouraged by man's unbelief; therefore it is
said, Mark vi. 5, 6, ' And he could do no mighty work there,
because of their unbelief ; ; he could not, because he would not, not
for want of power in him, but for want of disposition in the people.
So Mark ix. 22, 23 : the father cometh for a possessed child :
* Master, if thou canst do anything, help us/ Christ answereth, f If
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth/
The distressed father saith, ' If thou canst do anything ; ' our holy
Lord saith, ' If thou canst believe : ' as if he had said, Do not doubt
of my power, but look to thy own faith ; I can, if thou canst. If we
were disposed to receive as God is fitted to give, we should not be
long without an answer. Omnipotent power can save to the utter
most, infinite love can pardon to the uttermost, if we could but
believe. ' All things are possible to him that believeth ; ' that is, God
can do all things for the comfort and use of believers ; faith is his
immutable ordinance, and he will not go out of his own way. Well,
then, if you receive not, it is not for want of power in God, but want
of faith in yourselves.

Obs. 4. From that anything — neither wisdom nor anything else
— that God thinketh the least mercy too good for unbelievers : he
thinketh. nothing too good for faith, and anything too good for
unbelief. It is observable, in the days of Christ's flesh, that faith was
never frustrate ; he never let it pass without some effect ; nay, some
times he offereth all that you can wish for : Mat. xv. 28, ' Great is
thy faith ; be it to thee even as thou wilt.' Faith giveth Christ con
tent, and, therefore, he will be sure to give the believer content ;
crave what you will, and he will give it. But, on the contrary, * Let
not that man think that he shall receive anything/ How are the
bowels of mercy shrunk up at the sight of unbelief ! Believers shall
have all things, and you nothing.

Obs. 5. From that/row the Lord, that the fruit of our prayers
is received from the hands of Christ ; he is the middle person by
whom God conveyeth blessings to us, and we return duty to him. See
John xiv. 13, ' Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son/ Mark, ' I will
do it/ 1 Christ receiveth the power to convey the blessing ; we must
ask the Father, but it cometh to us through him : and all this, not
that the Father might be excluded, but glorified. We are unworthy
to converse with the Father, therefore Christ is the true mediator.
God is glorified when we come to him through Christ. In times of

_ 'Mirum novumque dictu quod patri exhibeatur petitio et filius exaudiat, cum ex-
auditio ad eum pertineat cui est porrecta petitio.'— Simon de Cassia, lib. xiii. cap. 2.

JAS. I. 8.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 55

knowledge, God would have your thoughts in prayer to be more dis
tinct and explicit ; you must come to the Father in the Son's name,
and look for all through the Spirit : and as the Spirit worketh as
Christ's Spirit, to glorify the Son, John xvi. 4, so the Son, he will
give to glorify the Father. What an excellent ground of hope and
confidence have we, when we reflect upon these three things in prayer —
the Father's love, the Son's merit, and the Spirit's power ! No man
cometh to the Son but by the Father, John vi. 65 : no man cometh to
the Father but by the Son, John xiv. 6 : no man is united to the Son
but by the Holy Ghost : therefore do we read of ' the unity of the
Spirit/ Eph. iv. 3.

Ver. 8. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

He proceedeth to a general consideration of the unhappiness of un
believers, and he saith two things of them — that they are double-
minded and unstable. Possibly there may be a secret antithesis, or
opposition, between the temper of these men and what he had said
before of God. God giveth a-TrAw?, with a single mind (ver. 5), and we
expect with a double mind, our trust being nothing so sure as his
mercy is free. But let us examine the words more particularly.

A double-minded man, §tyvyp<s avrjp. — The word signifieth one that
hath two souls ; and so it may imply — (1.) A hypocrite, as the same
word is used to that purpose, James iv. 8 : * Purify your hearts, ye
double-minded/ Sfyv^oi,. As he speaketh to open sinners to cleanse
their hands, so to close hypocrites (whom he there calleth double-
minded, as pretending one thing and meaning another), to purify
their hearts, that is, to grow more inwardly sincere ; and so it suiteth
very well with that phrase by which the Hebrews express a deceiver :
Ps. xii. 2, ' With a double heart do they speak : ' in the original,
'With a heart and a heart,' which is their manner of expression
when they would express a thing- that is double or deceitful, as divers
or deceitful weights is a weight and a weight in the original, Prov.
xx. 23. As Theophrastus saith of the partridges of Paphlagonia, that
they had two hearts ; so every hypocrite hath two hearts or two souls.
As I remember, I have read of a profane wretch that bragged he had
two souls in one body, one for God, and the other for anything.1 (2.) It
implieth one that is distracted and divided in his thoughts, floating
between two different ways and opinions, as if he had two minds, or
two souls ; and certainly there were such in the apostle's days, some
Judaising brethren, that sometimes would sort with the Jews, some
times with the Christians, and did not use all due endeavours to be
built up in the faith, or settled in the truth : as of ancient, long before
this time, it is said of others, 2 Kings xvii. 33, ' They feared the Lord,
and served their own gods;' they were divided between God and
idols, which indifferency of theirs the prophet expresseth by a double
or divided heart : Hosea x. 2, ' Their heart is divided, now shall they
be found faulty.' Thus Athanasius applied this description to the
Eusebians,2 that sometimes held one thing, and anon another, that a

1 * Professus est se habere duas animas in eodem corpore, unam Deo dicatam, alteram
unicuique illam vellet.' — Callenueius lib. v. Hist. Neap.

2 The Arians, so called from Eusebius, the Arian Bishop of Nicomedia, who recanted
and fell again to his heresy. — Socrat. Scholast. lib. i. cap. 25.

56 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 8.

man could never have them at any stay or certain pass. (3.) And, more
expressly to the context, it may note those whose minds were tossed
to and fro with various and uncertain motions ; now lifted up with a
billow of presumption, then cast down in a gulf of despair, being
divided between hopes and fears concerning their acceptance with
God. I prefer this latter sense, as most suiting with the apostle's pur
pose.

Is unstable, a/carda-Taro?.— Hath no constancy of soul, being as ready
to depart from God as to close with him ; no way fixed and resolved
in the religion he professeth.

In all kis ways.— Some apply it chiefly to prayer, because those that
are doubtful of success often intermit the practice of it, regarding it
only now and then in some zealous pangs, when conscience falleth
upon them : but I suppose rather it is a general maxim, and that
prayer is only intended by consequence, for the apostle saith, ' in all his
ways/ Note, loay, by a known Hebraism, is put for any counsel,
action, thought, or purpose ; arid so it implieth that all their thoughts,
motions, and actions do float hither and thither continually.
The notes are these :—

Obs. 1. That unbelieving hypocrites are men of a double mind;
they want the conduct of the Spirit, and are led by their own affec
tions, and therefore cannot be settled : fear, the love of the world,
carnal hopes and interests draw them hither and thither, for they have
no certain guide and rule. It is said of godly men, Ps. cxii. 7, ' They
shall not be afraid of evil tidings ; their heart is fixed, trusting in the
Lord : ' they walk by a sure rule, and look to sure promises ; and there
fore, though their condition is changed, their heart is not changed, for
the ground of their hopes is still the same. Carnal men's hearts rise
and fall with their news, and when affairs are doubtful, their hopes are
uncertain, for they are fixed upon uncertain objects, 'They are con
founded, for they have heard evil tidings,' saith the prophet, Jer, xlix.
23 : upon every turn of affairs, they have, as it were, another heart
and soul. That request of David is notable for the opening of this
double mind, Ps. Ixxxvi. 11, 'Unite my heart to fear thy name/ The
Septuagint read evworov T^V KapStav /^oO, ' make my heart one,' that is,
apply it only and constantly to thy fear ; implying, that where men
are divided between God and secular interests, they have, as it were,
two hearts ; one heart inclineth them to a care of duty, the other heart
discourageth them by fears of the world : the heart is not //-om^co?
(which is Aquila's word in that place), after one manner and fashion.
This double mind in carnal men bewrayeth itself two ways — in their
hopes and their opinions. (1.) In their hopes, they are distracted be
tween expectation and jealousy, doubts and fears ; now full of confi
dence in their prayers, and anon breathing forth nothing but sorrow
and despair ; and possibly that may be one reason why the psalmist
compareth the wicked to chaff, Ps. i. 4, because they have no firm
stay and subsistence, but are driven to and fro by various and un
certain motions, leading their lives by guess, rather than any sure aim.
(2.) In their opinions, hypocrites usually waver and hang in suspense,
being distracted between conscience and carnal affections ; their affec
tions carry them to Baal, their consciences to God ; as the prophet

JAS. I. 8.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 57

saith to such men, 1 Kings xviii. 21, ' How long will ye halt between
two opinions ? ' They are usually guilty of a promiscuous compliance,
which, though used by them in carnal policy, yet often tendeth to their
hurt ; for this indifferency is hateful to God and men. God loatheth
it : Rev. iii. 15, ' I know thy works ; I would thou wert either hot or
cold ; but because thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spue tliee out of
my mouth/ Lukewarmness is that temper that is most ingrate to the
stomach, and therefore causeth vomits : so are lukewarm Christians to
God ; his ways are not honoured but by a zealous earnestness. And man
hateth it. Solon did not judge him a good citizen that in a civil war
took neither part; usually such middling men,1 like those that come
between two fencers, suffer on both sides. I confess, sometimes godly
persons may be at a stand ; those that make conscience of things are
not rash in choice, and therefore usually there is some hesitancy before
engagement, which, though it be an infirmity, yet God winketh at it
as long as they endeavour satisfaction : but certainly a child of God
should not rest in such a frame of spirit : sincerity is much tried by
an 'establishment in the present truth,' 2 Peter i. 12; that is, by up
rightness in the controversies of our age and time. Antiquated
opinions, that are altogether severed and abstracted from present
interests, are no trial, therefore it is good to be positive and settled,
€v TTJ nrapovarj akrjdeiq, ' in the truth that now is/ I confess, such
cases may happen, where the pretences of both sides are so fair, and
the miscarriages so foul, that we know not which to choose ; and (as
Cato said of the civil wars between Ca3sar and Pompey, quern fug iam
video, quern sequar non video), we can better see whom to avoid, than
whom to close with and follow ; and thereupon there may be hesitancy
and indifferency ; but this is neither allowed for the present, nor con
tinued out of interest, but conscience, and never descendeth to any
base compliances for advantage.2

Obs. 2. That doubtfulness of mind is the cause of uncertainty in
our lives and conversations. Their minds are double, and therefore
their ways are unstable. First, there is (as Seneca saith), nusquam
residents animi volutatio, uncertain rollings of spirit ; and then vita
pendens, a doubtful and suspensive life.3 For our actions do oft bear
the imnge and resemblance of our thoughts, and the heart not being
fixed, the life is very uncertain. The note holdeth good in two cases :
—(1.) In fixing the heart in the hopes of the gospel ; (2.) In fixing the
heart in the doctrine of the gospel ; as faith sometimes implieth the
doctrine which is believed, sometimes the grace by which we do believe.4
A certain expectation of the hopes of the gospel produceth obedience,
and a certain belief of the doctrine of the gospel produceth constancy.

1. None walk so evenly with God as they that are assured of the
love of God. Faith is the mother of obedience, and sureness of trust
maketh way for strictness of life. When men are loose from Christ,
they are loose in point of duty, and their floating belief is soon dis
covered in their inconstancy and unevenness of walking. We do not

1 ''M^o-os air* a/j.<poTtpuv /ca/cws Tracrxei' — Nazar. Orat. 13.

2 ' Bonus jinimus nanquam erranti obsequium accommodat.' — Ambros.

3 Sen. lib. de Tranquill.

4 ' Fides quse creditur, et fides qua creditur.'

58 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 9.

with any alacrity or cheerfulness engage in that of whose success we
are doubtful ; l and therefore, when we know not whether God will
accept us or no, when we are off and on in point of trust, we are just
so in the course of our lives, serve God by fits and starts, only when
some zealous moods and pangs come upon us. It is the slander
of the world to think assurance is an idle doctrine. Never is the soul
so quickened and enabled for duty as it is by ' the joy of the Lord : '
Neh. viii. 10, ' The joy of the Lord is your strength.' Faith, filling
the heart with spiritual joy, yieldeth a strength for all our duties and
labours ; and we are carried on with life and vigour when we have
most lively apprehensions of the divine grace.

2. None are so constant in the profession of any truth as they that
are convinced and assured of the grounds of it. When we are but
half convinced, we are usually unstable. I remember the apostle
speaketh of a thing which he calleth 'IStov o-rrfpiypov, ' our own stead
fastness/ 2 Peter iii. 17, ' Lest ye fall from your own steadfastness
into the error of the wicked/ Every believer hath, or should have, a
proper ballast in his own spirit, some solid, rational grounds that may
stay and support him; otherwise, when the chain of consent is broken,
we shall soon be scattered. So elsewhere a believer is bidden to ren
der \6yov, ' a reason of the hope that is in him,' 1 Peter iii. 15; that is,
those inward motives that constrained his assent to the truth. Thus also
the apostle Paul chargeth us, 1 Thes. v. 21, first to ' prove all things,'
and then to 'hold fast that which is good/ It is unsafe to engage till
a full conviction, or to resolve without evidence, for there is no likeli
hood of holding fast till we have proved. Well, then, labour to under
stand the grounds of your religion. If you love a truth ignorantly, you
cannot love it constantly. There is still a party left in the soul to
betray it into the hands of the opposite error. To take up ways with
out any trial is but a simple credulity, which will soon be abused and
misled ; and to take up ways upon half conviction is hypocrisy, which
by that other part of the mind not yet gained will be soon discovered.
Look upon it, then, as brutish to follow the track, and base to profess
before you are ascertained.

Ver. 9. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.

The apostle having finished that necessary digression about prayer,
returneth to the main matter in hand, which is bearing of afflictions
with joy; and urgeth another reason in this verse, because, to be de
pressed in ^ the world for righteousness' sake, is to be exalted towards
God ; and in consideration of their spiritual comforts and privileges,
they had rather cause to boast and glory than to be made sorry. Lot
us see the force of the words.

Let the brother ; that is, a Christian. The people of God are ex
pressed by that term, because the truest friendship and brotherhood is
inter bonos, among the good and godly. Combinations of wicked
men are rather a faction and a conspiracy than a brotherhood ; there
fore you find this in scripture notion always appropriated to the people
of God. When it is said indefinitely ' a brother,' you may under
stand a saint ; as here James doth not say ' a Christian/ but ' let
the brother/ So Paul, 1 Cor. xvi. 20, ' All the brethren salute you ; '

1 Cn/>oat/jec7is OVK ^artv aSwdrw.'— Arist. Ethic.

JAS. I. 9.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 59

that is, all the saints. And sometimes it is expressed with this ad
dition, * holy brethren/ 1 Thes. v. 27 ; whereas in the same place, in
ver. 26, he had said, ' Greet all the brethren.' This loving compel-
lation and use of calling one another brothers and sisters continued
till Tertullian's time, as we showed before.

Of loiv degree. — In the original it is raTre^o?, which, as the Hebrew
word "oy, signifieth both humble and base, the grace and the con
dition, affliction and humility. It is here put for the condition, not
the grace, and therefore we well render it ' of a low degree ; ' for it is
opposed to the term ' rich ' in the next verse ; and so it is taken else
where, as Prov. xvi. 19, * Better be of an humble spirit with the
lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud/ By lowly he meaneth
the lowly in condition, not in heart ; for it is opposed to ' dividing the
spoil.' So Luke i. 48, * He hath regarded the low estate of his hand
maid ; ' — it is rrjv TcnreivuxTiv, the humility of his handmaid. The
grace and the condition are expressed by the same term, because a
low estate is the great engagement to a lowly heart. But remember,
by low degree is not intended one that is poor simply, but one that is
poor for Christ, as persecutions and afflictions are often expressed by
the word humility and humiliation ; thus Ps. ix. 12, 13, ' He for-
getteth not the cry of the humble ' — the margin readeth afflicted ;
and in ver. 13, ' Consider my trouble which I suffer from them that
hate me ' — in the original, my ' humiliation/ So here, aSeA</>o?
Ta-Trai/o?, ' the humble brother ' is one that is humbled or made low
by the adversaries of religion.

Eejoice. — In the original icav^da-Ow, ' boast ' or ' glory,' as it is in
the margin. It is the highest act of joy; even when joy beginneth to
degenerate, and pass the limits and bounds of reason. I say, it is the
first degeneration of joy, and argue th the soul to be surprised with
great excess and height of affection, for the next step beyond this is
verily wicked. Joy beginneth to exceed when it cometh to exultation,
but when it cometh to insultation, it is stark naught. Therefore,
how should they boast or glory ? Is that lawful ? I answer — (1.) It
may be understood as a concession of the lesser evil, thus : Rather than
murmur under afflictions, or faint under them, or endeavour to come
out of them by ill means, you may rather boast of them ; rather than
groan under them as a burden, you may boast of them as a privilege
— it is the lesser evil. Such concessions are frequent in scripture, as
Prov. v. 19, ' Thou shalt err in her love ;' so in the original, and in the
Septuagint, rfj $L\ia avr^ Trepifapo/jievos TroAAocrro? e'er??, * Thou shalt
be overmuch in her love/ We translate, ' He shall be ravished with
her love/ which certainly implieth an unlawful degree, for ecstasies
and ravishments in carnal matters are sinful. How is it, then, to be
understood? Doth the scripture allow any vitiosity and excess of
affection ? No ; it is only a notation of the lesser evil. Eather than
lose thyself in the embraces of an harlot, ' let her breasts satisfy th.ee/
be overmuch, or ' err in her love/ (2.) It may only imply the worth
of our Christian privileges: let him look upon his privileges as
matter of boasting. How base and abject soever your condition seem
to the world, yet suffering for Christianity is a thing whereof you may
rather boast than be ashamed. (3.) It may be the word is to be mol-

60 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 9.

lifted with a softer signification, as our translators, instead of ' let him
boast' or glory, say, * let him rejoice,' though, by the way, there is
no necessity of such a mitigated sense ; for the apostle Paul saith
directly, in the same terms, Rom. v. 3, ' We boast, or glory, in tribu
lations,' &c. But more of this in the observations.

In that lie is exalted, ev reo in/ret avrov, in his sublimity. This
may be understood two ways: — (1.) More generally, in that he is a
brother or a member of Christ, as the worth and honour of the spirit
ual estate is often put to counterpoise the misery and obscurity of
afflictions ; thus Rev. ii. 9, ' I know thy poverty, but thou art rich/
—poor outwardly, but rich spiritually. (2.) More particularly, it may
note the honour of afflictions, that we are thought worthy to be suf
ferers for anything in which Christ is concerned, which is certainly a
great preferment and exaltation.
The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That the people of God are brethren. I observed it before,
but here it is direct, ' Let the brother of low degree/ &c. They are
begotten by the same Spirit, by the same immortal seed of the word.
They have many engagements upon them to all social and brotherly
affection. Jure matris naturce1 (as Tertullian saith) — by the common
right of nature, all men are brethren. But, Vos mali fratres, quia
parum homines (saith he to the persecutors) — the church can ill call
you brethren, because ye are scarce men. Well, then, consider your
relation to one another. You are brethren, a relation of the greatest
endearment, partly as it is natural — not founded in choice, as friend
ship, but nature ; partly as it is between equals. The respect between
parents and children is natural ; but in that part of it which ascendeth
from inferiors to superiors, there is more of reverence than sweetness.
In equals there is (if I may so speak) a greater symmetry and propor
tion of spirit, therefore more love. Ah ! then, live and love as brethren.
Averseness of heart and carriage will not stand with this sweet rela
tion. The apostle speaketh with admiration: 1 Cor. vi. 6, 'Brother
goeth to law with brother, and that before unbelievers ! ' There are
two aggravations — one from the persons striving, brother with brother;
the other, before whom — they made infidels conscious of their conten
tion. So Gen. xiii. 7, 8, ' And there was a strife between the herd-
men of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle, and the
Canaanite and Perizzite was yet in the land.' The Canaanite was yet
unsubdued, ready to take advantage of their divisions, yet they strove.
But see how Abram taketh up the matter. ' We be brethren, let
there be no more strife/ Oh ! consider, no discords are like those of
brethren. The nearer the union, the greater the separation upon a
breach ; for natural ties being stronger than artificial, when they are
once broken they are hardly made up again ; as seams when they are
ripped may be sewed again, but rents in the whole cloth are not so
easily remedied. And so Solomon saith, Prov. xviii. 19, 'A brother
offended is harder to be won than a strong city : their contentions
are like the bars of a castle ; ' that is, they are as irreconcilable as
a strong castle is impregnable. But this is not all that is required,
as to avoid what misbecometh the relation, but we must also practise

1 Tertul. in Apol. cap. 39.

JAS. I. 9.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 61

the duty that it enforceth. There should be mutual endeavours for
each others' good : Ps. cxxii. 8, ' For my brethren and companions'
sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee ; ' that is, because of the re
lation, he would be earnest with God in prayer for their welfare.

Obs. 2. The brother of low degree. — He saith of low degree, and yet
brother. Meanness doth not take away church relations. Christian
respects are not to be measured by these outward things ; a man is
not to be measured by them, therefore certainly not a Christian, I
had almost said, not a beast. We choose a horse sine phaleris et
ephippio, by his strength and swiftness, not the gaudiness of his trap
pings : that which Christians should look at is not these outward
additaments, but the eminency of grace : James ii. 1, ' Have not the
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in respect of persons ; ' that is, do not
esteem their grace according to the splendour or meanness of the out
ward state and condition. Despising the poor is called a despising
the church of God : 1 Cor. xi. 22, ' Have ye not houses to eat and
drink in ? Or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that
have not ? ' At their love feasts they were wont to slight the poor,
and discourage those that were not able to defray part of the charge,
which, the apostle saith, is a despising the church that is, those that
are members of Christ and the church, as well as themselves ; x for he
doth not oppose eKK\7]a-iai> to oiicov, as a public place to a private, but
a public action to a private action ; as if he had said thus : In your
houses you have a liberty to invite whom you please, but when you
meet in a public assembly, you must not exclude such a considerable
part of the church as the poor are.

Obs. 3. Again, from that the brother of a low degree. Not a man
of low degree, but a brother. It is not poverty, but poor Christianity
that occasioneth joy and comfort. Many please themselves because
they suffer afflictions in this world ; and therefore think they should
be free in the world to come, as many ungodly poor men think death
will make an end of their troubles, as if they could not have two hells.
Oh ! consider, it is not mere meanness that is a comfort ; the brother
only can rejoice in his misery and low estate. You shall see it is said,
Exod. xxiii. 3, * Thou shalt not countenance a poor man in his cause : '
a man would have thought it should have been rather said, ' the rich ; '
but there is a foolish pity in man, and we are apt to say, he is a poor
man, and so omit justice. Well, then, God, that condemneth it in man,
will not pity you for your mere poverty : Mat. v. 3, ' Blessed are the
poor in spirit ; ' mark that irvev^aTi, in spirit, not in purse. Many
men's sufferings here are but the pledges and prefaces of future misery,
the ' beginning of sorrows/ Mat. xxiv. 8. For the present your families
are full of wants, your persons oppressed with misery and reproach,
but all this is but a shadow of hell that cometh after ; every Lazarus
is not carried into Abraham's bosom ; you may be miserable here and
hereafter too ; God will not pity you because of your suffering, but
punish you rather, for these give you warning. Oh ! consider, then, is
it not sad to you, when you see the naked walls, the ragged clothes,
and hear the cries of the hungry bellies within your families, you your-

i See Spanhemius in his Dubia Evanyelica, part iii. dub. 77, largely discussing this
matter.

62 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 9.

selves much bitten and pinched with want, and become the scorn and
contempt of those that dwell about you ? Ay ! but it will be more
sad to consider that these are the beginnings of sorrows ; you cry for
a bit now, and then you may howl for a drop to cool your tongue ;
now you are the scorn of men, then the scorn of God, men, and angels.
Oh ! be wise ; now you may have Christ as well as others ; as the poor
and rich were to pay the same ransom to make an atonement for their
souls, Exod. xxx. 15 : but if not, you will perish as well as others ; as
God will not favour the rich, so he will not pity the poor.

Obs. 4. From the word raTreo/o? — it signifieth both humble, and of
loiv degree — observe, that the meanest have the greatest reason and
engagement to be humble ; their condition always maketh the grace
in season — poverty and pride are most unsuitable. It was one of
Solomon's odd sights, Eccles. x. 7, to see ' servants on horseback, and
princes going on foot/ A poor proud man is a prodigy and wonder
of pride ; he hath less temptation to be proud, he hath more reason to
be humble. Nebuchadnezzar was more excusable, for he had a great
Babel, and that was a great temptation. Besides what should be in
your affections, there is somewhat in your condition to take down the
height of your spirits : it is not fit for those of the highest rank to turn
fashionists, and display the ensigns of their own vanity ; but when
servants and those of a low degree put themselves into the garb, it is
most intolerable. But alas ! thus we often find it ; men usually walk
unsuitably to their condition, as if they would supply in pride what
is lacking in estate and sufficiency ; whereas others that excel in
abilities are most lowly in mind, as the sun at highest casteth least
shadows.

Obs. 5. Again, from that of low degree. God may set his people in
the lowest rank of men. A brother may be rdireivo^, base and abject,
in regard of his outward condition. ' The Captain of salvation/ the
Son of God himself, was, Isa. liii. 3, ' despised and rejected of men ; '
as we render it in the original, chadal ischim, desitio virorum,ihatis,
the leaving-off of men ; implying that he appeared in such a form
and rank that he could scarce be said to be man, but as if he were to
be reckoned among some baser kind of creatures ; as Ps. xxii. 6,
David saith, as a type of him, * I am a worm, and no man ; ' rather
to be numbered among the worms than among men, of so miserable a
being that you could scarce call him man; rather worm, or some
other notion that is fittest to express the lowest rank of creatures.
Well, then, in the greatest misery say, I am not yet beneath the con
dition of a saint — a brother may be base and abject.

^ Obs. 6. From that let the brother of low degree glory. That the
vilest and most abject condition will not excuse us from murmuring :
though you be Tdireivos, base, yet you may rejoice and glory in the
Lord. A man cannot sink so low as to be past the help of spiritual
comforts. In 'the place of dragons' there is somewhat to check
murmurings, somewhat that may allay the bitterness of our condition,
if we had eyes to see it : though the worst thing were happened to
you, poverty, loss of goods, exile, yet in all this there is no ground of
impatiency : the brother of low degree may pitch upon something in
which he may glory. Well, then, do not excuse passion by misery,

JAS. I. 9.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 63

and blame your condition when you should blame yourselves : it is
not your misery, but your passions, that occasion sin ; wormwood is
not poison. But alas ! the old Adam is found in us : ' The woman,
which thou gavest me, gave me, and I did eat/ We blame provi
dence when we should smite upon our own thighs. It is but a fond
excuse to say, Never such sufferings as mine : Lam. i. 12, ' Is there
any sorrow like unto my sorrow ? ' Men pitch upon that circumstance,
and so justify their murmurings. But remember, the greatness of
your sufferings cannot give allowance to the exorbitancies of your
passions : the low degree hath its comforts.

Obs. 7. From that rejoice, or glory, or boast. There is a concession
of some kind of boasting to a Christian ; he may glory in his privileges.
To state this matter, I shall show you :—

1. How he may not boast. (1.) Not to set off self, self-worth, self-
merits ; so the apostle's reproof is just, 1 Cor. iv. 7, ' Why dost thou
glory ' (the same word that is used here) ' as if thou hadst not received
what thou hast ? ' That is an evil glorying, to glory in ourselves, as if
our gifts and graces were of our own purchasing, and ordained for the
setting off of our own esteem ; all such boasting is contrary to grace,
as the apostle saith, Rom. iii. 27, flou ovv r) Kavxrja-is, ' Where is
boasting? It is excluded by grace.' (2.) Not to vaunt it over others ;
the scripture giveth you no allowance to feed pride : it is the language
of hypocrites, Isa. Ixv. 5, ' Stand by thyself ; I am holier than thou/
To despise others, as carnal, as men of the world, and to carry our
selves with an imperious roughness towards them, it is a sign we
forget who made the difference. The apostle chideth such kind of
persons, Rom. xiv. 10, TL efou&z/efc, 'Why dost thou set at naught thy
brother?' Tertullian readeth it, Cur nullificasf — why dost thou
nothing him? He that maketh nothing of others, forgetteth that
God is ' all in all ' to himself. Grace is of another temper : Titus iii.
3, ' Show meekness to all men, for we ourselves in times past were
foolish and disobedient/ So think of what you are, that you may not
forget what you were, before grace made the distinction.

2. How he may boast. (1.) If it be for the glory of God, to exalt
God, not yourselves : Ps. xxxiv. 2, ' My soul shall make her boast of
God ; ' of his goodness, mercy, power. This is well, when we see we
have nothing to boast of but our God ; neither wealth, nor riches, nor
wisdom, but of the Lord alone : Jer. ix. 23, 24, ' Let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom, nor the mighty man glory in his strength ;
but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he knoweth me, saith the
Lord/ This doth not only quicken others to praise him, but argueth
much affection in yourselves ; as, when we prize a thing, we say we
have nothing to glory of but that ; so it is a sign the soul sets God
above all when it will glory in none other. (2.) To set out the worth
of your privileges. The world thinketh you have a hard bargain to
have a crucified Christ ; — glory in it. Thus Rom. v. 3, ' We glory in
tribulations/ The apostle doth not say, We must glory or boast of our
tribulations or sufferings, but glory in tribulations. There is poor
comfort in offering our bodies to the idol of our own praise, and to
affect a martyrdom to make way for our repute or esteem, that we
may have somewhat whereof to boast ; that is not the apostle's mean-

64 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. $.

ing. But this glorying is to let the world know the honour we put
upon any engagement for Christ, and that they may know we are not
ashamed of our profession, when it is discountenanced and persecuted.
The apostle Paul is excellently explained by the apostle Peter : 1 Peter
iv. 16, 'If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but
let him glorify God in this behalf.' They think it is a disgrace, and
you think it is a glory to surfer for Christ. Look, as divines say, in the
case of eyeing the reward ; then it is done most purely when it is done to
extenuate the temptation by the esteem and presence of our hopes, as
Christ counted it a light shame, in comparison of ' the joy set before
him/ Heb. xii. 2 ; and Moses the treasures of Egypt nothing in com
parison of the recompense of reward, Heb. xii. 26. So, here, in
this cause you may glory, that is, to counterbalance the shame of the
world with the dignity of your profession and hopes. Well, then,
you see how you may glory, to declare your valuation and esteem of
God and his ways.

Obs. 8. From that he is exalted. That grace is a preferment and
exaltation ; even those of low degree may be thus exalted. All the
comforts of Christianity are such as are riddles and contradictions
to the flesh : poverty is preferment ; servants are freemen, the Lord's
freemen, 1 Cor. vii. 22. The privileges of Christianity take off all
the ignominy of the world. Christian slaves and vassals are yet
delivered from the tyranny of Satan, the slavery of sin ; therefore he
saith they are ' the Lord's freemen/ So James ii. 5, ' Hath not God
chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith ? ' Spiritual treasure
and inward riches are the best. A Christian's life is full of mysteries ;
poor, and yet rich, base, and yet exalted ; shut out of the world, and
yet admitted into the company of saints and angels ; slighted, yet dear
to God ; the world's dirt, and God's jewels. In one place it is said,
1 Cor. iv. 13, ' We are counted as the scurf and off-scouring of the
earth ; ; and in another, Mai. iii. 17, ' I will make up my jewels.'
Not a foot of land, yet an interest in the land of promise, a share in
the inheritance of the saints in light ; you see everything is amply
made up in another way. Do but consider the nature of your privi
leges, and you cannot but count them a preferment. You are called to
be ' sons of God : ' John i. 12, ' He vouchsafed them egovalav, the
privilege or prerogative to become the sons of God ;' so also, * members
of Christ/ and what a door of hope doth that open to you ; so also
' heirs of the promises/ 'joint-heirs with Christ/ Rom. viii. 17 ; so also
' partakers of the divine nature/ 2 Peter i. 4 : and what a privilege is
that, that we should be severed from the vile world, and gilded with
glory, when we might have stood like rotten posts ! that we should be
united to Christ, when, like dried leaven,1 we might have been driven
to and fro throughout the earth. Well, then :—

1. Never quarrel with providence. Though you have not other
things, rejoice in this, that you have the best things. Sole adoption is
worth all the world. Do not complain that you have not the gold,
if you have the kiss. I allude to that known story in Xenophon.
Never envy the world's enjoyments, no, though you see men wicked
and undeserving. To murmur under any such pretence is but dis-

1 Qu. ' leaves ' ?— ED.

JAS. I. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 65

guised envy. Consider God hath called you to another advancement.
You sin against the bounty of God if you do not value it above all
the pomp and glory of the creatures. They are full and shining, but
your comforts are better and more satisfying : 1 Tim. vi. 6, ' Godliness
with contentment is great gain ; ' or it may be read, ' Godliness is
great gain with contentment/ in opposition to worldly gain. Men
may gain much, but they are not satisfied ; but godliness is such a
gain as bringeth contentment and quiet along with it ; for I suppose
that place of the apostle is parallel to that of Solomon : Prov. x. 22,
' The blessing of God maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.'

2. Eefresh your hearts with the sense of your privileges. You that
are the people of God are exalted in your greatest abasures. Are you
naked ? You may be ' arrayed in tine linen/ Kev. xix. 8, which is
' SiKaKOfAara, the righteousnesses of the saints : ' that plural word im-
plieth justification and sanctification. Are you hungry ? God's moun
tain will yield you ' a feast of fat things, a feast of wines upon the lees
well refined/ Isa. xxv. 6 : wines on the lees are most generous and
sprightly. Are you thirsty ? You have ' a well of water springing
up to everlasting life/ John iv. 14. Are you base ? You have glory,
you have a crown. The word useth these expressions to show that
all your wants are made up by this inward supply.

Obs. 9. Observe more particularly, that the greatest abasures and
sufferings for Christ are an honour to us : Acts v. 41, ' They rejoiced
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name/ It was an
act of God's grace to put this honour upon them. Well, then, do not
look upon that as a judgment which is a favour. Reproaches for
Christ are matter of thanksgiving rather than discontent. In ordi
nary sufferings God's people have this comfort, that as nothing cometh
without merit, so nothing goeth away without profit. But here, what
ever is done to them is an honour, and an high vouchsafement. Oh !
how happy are the people of God, that can suffer nothing from God or
men, but what they may take comfort in !

Ver. 10. But the rich, in that he is made low ; because as the flower
of ike grass he shall pass away.

He taketh occasion from the former exhortation, which pressed to
rejoice in miseries, to speak of the opposite case, prosperity. Some
suppose the words to be an irony,1 wherein the apostle discovereth his
low conceit of worldly glory : all their exaltation is humiliation ; and
therefore, if he will glory, let him glory in his vileness, and the un-
settledness of his condition. That is all they can boast of — a low en
joyment that may be soon lost. But I suppose it is rather a direction ;
for he speaketh by way of advice to the rich Christian or brother,
which will appear more fully by a view of the words.

But the rich. — It noteth the noble, the honourable, those that are
dignified with any outward excellency, more especially those that did as
yet remain untouched or unbroken by persecution. Some observe he
doth not say ' the rich brother/ as before, * the brother of low degree/
but only generally ' the rich.' Few of that quality and rank give their
names to Christ. But this may be too curious.

In that, &c. — You see here wanteth a verb to make the sense entire

1 Tho. Lyra.
VOL. IV. B

66 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 10.

and full. What is to be understood ? (Ecumenius saith
1 Let him be ashamed/ considering the uncertainty of his estate ; others,
much to the same sense, raireLvovo-dw, let hhn^be humbled in that he
is made low, as if the opposite word to Kav^acrdw^ were to be intro
duced to supply the sense. So it would be a like speech with that, 1
Tim. iv. 3, where in the original it runneth thus, KCO^VOVTCOV ja/jielv KOI
aTreyeaOai T&V Ppwpdrcov, 'forbidding to marry, and to abstain from
meats; 'where there is a defect of the contrary word 'commanding/
which we in our translation supply, and read, ' forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from meats/ as Epiphanius, citing that place,
readeth it with that addition, /cco\v6i>ra)v ja/^elv KOI Kekevbwrwv cnrtyza--
Qai BwJLaTwv. So 1 Tim. ii. 12, ' I suffer not a woman to teach, but to

be in silence.' The opposite word to suffer not, or forbid, is under
stood, that is, ' I command her to be in silence.' So here, ' Let the
brother of low degree glory in that he is exalted ; ' and then ' the rich
be humbled in that he is made low.1 Many go this way. But this
seemeth somewhat to disturb the series and order of the words. I
always count that the best sense which runneth with a smooth plain
ness ; therefore I rather like the opinion of others who repeat Kav^aaOw^
used in the former verse, ' Let him rejoice, the poor man, in that^he is
spiritually exalted ; the rich in that he is spiritually humbled.' So
that grace maketh them both even and alike to God, and in regard of
divine approbation they stand upon the same level — the poor that is
too low he is exalted, the rich that is too high he is humbled ; which
to both is matter of glory or joy.

He is made low. — Some say outwardly and in providence, when his
crown is laid in the dust, and he is stripped of all, and brought into
the condition of the brother of low degree. But this is not so proper ;
for the apostle speaketh of such a making low as will consist with his
being rich ; made low whilst vrXoimo?, rich, and high in estate and
esteem. Some more particularly say, therefore made low, because,
though honourable for riches, yet, because a Christian, no more esteemed
than if poor, but accounted base and ignominious. But this doth not
suit with the reason at the end of the verse, ' because as the flower of
the field he shall pass away/ More properly, then, it is understood of
the disposition of the heart, of a low mind in a high condition ; and so
it noteth either such humility as ariseth from the consideration of our
own sinfulness (they are happy indeed whom God hath humbled with
a sense of their sins), or from a consideration of the uncertainty of all
worldly enjoyments. When our hearts are drawn from a high esteem
of outward excellences, and we live in a constant expectation of and
preparation for the cross, we may be said to be made low, though
never so much exalted, which I suppose is chiefly intended, and so it
suiteth with the reason annexed, and is parallel with that of the
apostle : 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge the rich men of this world that they
be not high-mir ded, and trust not in uncertain riches.' The meaning is,
that the glory of their condition is, that when God hath made them
most high, they are most low in their own thoughts.

Because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. — He ren-
dereth a reason why they should have a lowly mind in the midst of
their flourishing and plenty, because the pomp of their condition is but

JAS. I. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 67

as a flower of the field, which fadeth as soon as it displayeth its glory.
The similitude is often used in scripture : Ps. xxxvii. 2, ' They shall
soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb ; ' so
Job xiv. 2, ' He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down ; ' so Isa.
xl. 6, 7, ' All flesh is grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of
the field. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, because the
Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it ;' so also in many other places. I
shall improve the similitude in the notes. Only observe here, that
the apostle doth not say that his riches shall pass away as a flower,
but he shall pass away, he and his riches also. If we had a security of
our estate, we have none of our lives. We pass and they pass, and
that with as easy a turn of providence as the flower of the field fadeth.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. Riches are not altogether inconsistent with Christianity.
' Let the rich/ that is, the rich brother. Usually they are a great
snare. It is a hard matter to enjoy the world without being en
tangled with the cares and pleasures of it. The moon never suffereth
eclipse but when it is at the full ; and usually in our fulness we mis
carry ; and therefore our Saviour saith, Mat. xix. 24, * It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of God.' It is a Jewish proverb to note an
impossibility. Rich men should often think of it. A camel may as
soon go through a needle's eye, as you enter into the kingdom of God.
That were a rare miracle of nature, indeed, to see a camel or an ele
phant to pass through a needle's eye ; and it is as rare a miracle of
grace to see a rich man gained to Christ and a love of heaven. Of all
person sin the world, they are least apprehensive of spiritual excel
lences. Christ himself came inpoverty, in a prejudice, as it were, to
them that love riches. Plato, an heathen, saith the same almost with
Christ, that it is impossible for a man to be eminently rich and emi
nently good.1 The way of grace is usually so strait, that there is
scarce any room for them that would enter with their great burthens
of riches and honour.2 But you will say, What will you have
Christians to do then? In a lavish luxury to throw away their
estates ? or in an excess of charity to make others full, when themselves
are empty ? I answer — No ; there are two passages to mollify the
rigour of our Lord's saying. One is in the context, * With God all things
are possible,' Mat. xix. 26. Difficulties in the way to heaven serve to
bring us to a despair of ourselves, not of God. He can loosen the heart
from the world, that riches shall be no impediment ; as Job by provi
dence was made eminently rich, and by grace eminently godly — ' none
like him in all the earth/ Job i. 8. The other passage is in Mark x.
23, 24, ' Jesus said, How hard is it for them that have riches to enter
into the kingdom of God ! And the disciples were astonished at his
words ; but Jesus answereth again, How hard is it for them that trust
riches to enter into the kingdom of God ! ' It is not the having, but
the trusting. Riches in the having, in the bare possession, are not a
hindrance to Christianity, but in our abuse of them. The sum of all

1 ('Aya6bv t>vra 5ta0e/>6irws /cai TrXo&rtoi' elvai Sia0e/>6i'Tc<JS ddvvarov.' — Plato.

2 ' Non possunt in coelum aspicere, quoniam mens eorum in humum prona, terraeque de-
fixa est; virtutis autem via non capit magna onera portantes.' — Lactant. lib. sept.

68 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 10.

is, it is impossible to trust in riches and enter into the kingdom of
God, and it to us is impossible to have riches and not to trust in them.
Well, then, of all men, rich men should be most careful. ^ A man may
be rich and godly, but it is because now and then God will work some
miracles of grace. Your possessions will not be your ruin till your cor
ruptions mingle with them. Under the law the poor and rich were
to pay the same ransom, Exod. xxx. 15, intimating they may have
interest in the same Christ. It is Austin's observation l that poor Laz
arus was saved in the bosom of rich Abraham. Kiches in themselves
are God's blessings that come within a promise. It is said, Ps. cxii. 3,
of him that feareth the Lord, that ' wealth and riches shall be in his
house ; ' that is, when God seeth good, for all temporal promises must
be understood with an exception. They do not intimate what always
shall be, but that whatever is is by way of a blessing, the fruit of a
promise, not of chance, or a looser providence. Yea, riches with a
blessing are so far from being a hindrance to grace, that they are an
ornament to it ; so Prov. xiv. 24, ' The crown of the wise is their
riches, but the foolishness of fools is folly.' A rich wise man is
more conspicuous ; an estate may adorn virtue, but it cannot disguise
folly. A wise man that is rich hath an advantage to discover himself
which others have not ; but a fool is a fool still, as an ape is an ape
though tied with a golden chain. And to this sense I suppose Solo
mon speaketh when he saith, Eccles. vii. 11, 'Wisdom with an inheri
tance is good ; ' that is, more eminent and useful. And thus you see
riches are as men use them, blessings promiscuously dispensed — to the
good, lest they should be thought altogether evil ; to the bad, lest they
should be thought only good.2

Obs. 2. That a rich man's humility is his glory. Your excellency
doth not lie in the pomp and splendour of your condition, but in the
meekness of your hearts. Humility is not only a clothing, ' Put on
humbleness of mind/ Col. iii. 12, but an ornament, 1 Peter v. 5, ' Be
decked with humility/ e^Ko^^aao^Oe. It cometh from a word that
signifieth a knot, that maketh decency when things are fitly tied.
Men think that humility is a debasement, and meekness a derogation
from their honour and repute. Ah ! but you see God counteth
it an ornament. It is not a disguise, but a decking. None so base as
the proud in the eyes of God and men. Before God, you must not
value yourself by your estate and outward pomp, but your graces.
An high mind and a low condition are all one to the Lord, only
poverty hath the advantage, because it is usually gracious. If any may
glory, they may glory that have most arguments of God's love. Now
a lowly mind is a far better testimony of it than an high estate. And
so before men, as Augustine said, he is a great man that is not lifted up
because of his greatness. You are not better than others by your estate,
but your meekness. The apostles possessed all things though they had
nothing. They have more than you if they have a humble heart.

Obs. 3. That the way to be humble is to count the world's advan
tages our abasement. The poor man must glory in that he is exalted,
but the rich in that he is made low. Honours and riches do but set

1 * Servatur pauper Lazarus, sed in sinu Abraham! divitis.' — August, in Ps. li.
' Dautur bonis ue putentur mala, mails ne putentur bona. ' — August.

JAS. I. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 69

us beneath other men, rather than above them, and do rather abate
from you than add anything to you ; and it may be you have less of
the Spirit because you have more of the world. God doth not use to
flow in both ways. Well, then, get this mind in the midst of your
abundance. It is nothing what you do at other times. Men dispraise
that which they want, as the fox the grapes, and simple men learn
ing. But when you are rich, can you glory in that you are made low,
and say, All this is but low in regard of the saints' privileges ? This
would keep the heart in a right frame, so that you could lose wealth
or keep it. If you lose it, you do but lose a part of your abasement ;
if you keep it, you do not keep that which setteth you the higher or
the nearer to God. This is to ' possess all things as if you possessed
them not,' 1 Cor. vii. 30 — not to have them in your hearts when you
have them in your houses. And the truth is, this is the way to keep
them still, to be humble in the possession of them : Mat. xxiii. 12,
4 Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall
humble himself shall be exalted.' Kiches will be your abasement, if
you do not think them so.

Obs. 4. If we would be made low in the midst of worldly enjoy
ments, we should consider the uncertainty of them. This is the rea
son rendered by the apostle, ' Because as the flower of the grass he
shall pass away.' We are worldly, because we forget the world's
vanity and our own transitoriness : Ps. xlix. 11, * Their inward thought
is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places
to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.'
Either we think that we shall live for ever, or leave our riches to
those that will continue our memory for ever ; that is, to our chil
dren, which are but the parent multiplied and continued ; which is,
as one saith, nodosa ceternitas, a knotty eternity. When our thread
is spun out and done, their thread is knit to it ; and so we dream of a
continued succession in our name and family. But alas ! this inward
thought is but a vain thought— a sorry refuge by which man would
make amends for the loss of the true eternity. But in vain ; for we
perish, and our estate too. Both your persons and your condition are
transitory. The apostle saith, ' He shall pass away like the flower of
the grass.' Man himself is like the grass, soon withered; his condition
is like the flower of the grass, gone with a puff of wind. So 1 Peter i.
24, ' All flesh is grass, and the glory of man as the flower of the grass/
Many times the flower is gone when the stalk remaineth ; so man
seeth all that he hath been gathering a long time soon dissipated
by the breath of providence, and he, like a withered rotten stalk,
liveth scorned and neglected. The scriptures make use of both
these arguments — sometimes our own transitoriness, as Luke xii. 20,
'Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.' Here
men toil, and beat their brains, and tire their spirits, and rack their
consciences ; and when they have done all, like silkworms, they die in
their work, and God taketh them away ere they can roast what ^ they
get in hunting. Sometimes the transitoriness of these outward things ;
if we do not leave them, they may leave us. As many a man hath
survived his happiness, and lived so long as to see himself, when his
flower is gone, to be cast out upon the dunghill of scorn and contempt.

70 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 10.

And, truly it is a madness to be proud of that which may perish before
we perish, as it is the worst of miseries to outlive our own happiness.
The apostle saith, 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge rich men that they be not
high-minded, and trust not in uncertain riches/ Trust should have a
sure object, for it is the quiet repose of the soul in the bosom of an
immutable good. Therefore that which is uncertain cannot yield a
ground of trust. You may entertain it with j ealousy, but not with trust ;
so Prov. xxiii. 5, ' Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not ?'
Outward riches are so far from being the best things, that they rather
are not anything at all. Solomon calleth them ' that which is not ;'
and who ever loved nothing, and would be proud of that which is not ?
Obs. 5. The uncertainty of worldly enjoyments may be well resem
bled by a flower — beautiful, but fading. The similitude is elsewhere
used : I gave you places in the exposition, let me add a few more :
see Ps. ciii. 15, 16, 'As for man, his days are as grass; as a
flower of the field, so he flour isheth : for the wind passeth over it.
and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more/ When
the flower is gone, the root, as afraid, shrinketh into the ground, and
there remaineth neither remnant nor sign ; so many a man that
keepeth a bustling, and ruffleth it in the world, is soon snapped off
by providence, and there doth not remain the least sign and memorial
of him. So 1 Peter i. 24, 'For all flesh is as grass, and all the
glory of man as the flower of the grass ; the grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away/ It is repeated and returned to our con
sideration — ' all flesh is grass/ and then, ' the grass withereth,' to show
that we should often whet it and inculcate it upon our thoughts. In
short, from this resemblance you may learn two things : —

1. That though the things of the world are specious, yet they
should not allure us, because they are fading. Flowers are sweet, and
affect the eye, but their beauty is soon scorched : the soul is for an
eternal good, that it may have a happiness suitable to its own dura
tion. An immortal soul cannot have full contentment in that which
is fading ; but this is a point that calleth for meditation rather than
demonstration. It is easy to declaim upon the vanity of the creature :
it is every man's object and every man's subject. Oh! but think of
it seriously, and desire God to be in your thoughts. When the
creatures tempt you, be not enticed by the beauty of them, so as to
forget their vanity. Say, Here is a flower, glorious, but fading;
glass that is bright, but brittle.

2. The fairest things are most fading. Creatures, when they come
to their excellency, then they decay, as herbs, when they come to
flower, they begin to wither ; or, as the sun when it cometh to the
zenith, then it declineth : Ps. xxxix. 5, ' Man at his best estate is
altogether vanity ; ' not at his worst only, when the feebleness and
inconveniences of old age have surprised him. Many, you know, are
blasted and cut off in their flower, and wither as soon as they begin
to flourish. Paul had a messenger of Satan presently upon his ecstasy,
2 Cor. xii. 7. So the prophet speaketh of ' a grasshopper in the begin
ning of the shooting up of the latter growth/ Amos vii. 1. As soon
as the ground recovered any verdure and greenness, presently there
came a grasshopper to devour the herbage : the meaning is, a new

JAS. I. 11.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 71

affliction as soon as they began to flourish. Well, then, suspect these
outward things when you most abound in them. David thought of
overthrows when God had given him a great victory, as Ps. Ix. Com
pare the psalm with the title. So it is good to think of famine and
want in the midst of plenty : a man doth not know what overturn-
ings there may be in the world. The woman that stood not in need
of the prophet, 2 Kings iv. 13, ' I dwell among my own people/
that is, I have no need of friends at court, yet afterward stood in need
of the prophet's man, 2 Kings viii. 5. The Lord knoweth how soon
your condition may be turned ; when it seemeth to flourish most, it
may be near a withering.

Ver. 11. For the sun is no sooner risen ivith a burning lieat, but it
withereih the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the
fashion of it perisheth; so also shall the rich man fade aiuay in his ways.

He pursueth the similitude, and in the close of the verse applieth
it. There is nothing needeth illustration but the latter clause.

So shall ; that is, so may ; for the passage is not absolutely defini
tive of what always shall be, but only declarative of what may be ;
and, therefore, the future tense is used for the potential mood. We
see, many times, that * the wicked live, become old, and mighty in
power ; their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God
upon them : their bull gendereth, and faileth not ; their cow calveth,
and casteth not her calf/ Job xxi. 7-10. Therefore, I say, the apostle
showeth not what always cometh to pass, but what may be, and
usually falleth out, and what at length certainly will be their portion.

The rich man. — That is either to be taken generally for the rich,
whether godly or ungodly, or more especially for the ungodly person
that trusteth in his riches.

Fade away /jLapavOrja-ercu, a word proper to herbs when they lose
their verdure and beauty.

In his ways. — Some read, as Erasmus and Gagneus, eV iropiaLs,
' with his abundance/ which reading Calvin also approveth, as suit
ing better with the context, ' So shall the rich and all his abundance
fade away ; ' but the general and more received reading is that which
we follow, eV Tropetcus in his ways or journeys ; the word is emphatical,
and importeth that earnest industry by which men compass sea and
land, run hither and thither in the pursuit of wealth, and yet, when
all is done, it fadeth like the flower of the grass.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1 . From the continuance of the similitude, that the vanity of
flowers should hint thoughts to us about the vanity of our own com
forts. We delight in pictures and emblems, for then the soul, by the
help of fancy and imagination, hath a double view of the object in
the similitude, which is, as it were, a picture of it, and then the thing
itself. This was God's ancient way to teach his people by types ; still
he teacheth us by similitudes taken from common and ordinary
objects, that when we are cast upon them, spiritual thoughts may be
awakened ; and so every ordinary object is, as it were, hallowed and
consecrated to a heavenly purpose. Well, then, let this be your field
or garden meditation ; when you see them decked with a great deal of
bravery, remember all this is gone in an instant when the burning

72 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 11.

heat ariseth. In the text it is (let me open that by the way) 7puo<?
T&> Kavo-a)vi, the sun with a burning wind, so in the original ; for
/cavaojv, the word used here, is usually put here for a scorching wind,
which, in the hot and eastern countries, was wont to accompany the
rising of the sun ; as Jonah iv. 8, ' It came to pass, when the sun did
begin to arise, God prepared a vehement east wind ; ' and, therefore,
do we read of ' the drying east wind/ Ezek. xvii. 10 ; and in many
places of Hosea. It was a hot, piercing wind that blasted all things,
and was the usual figure of God's judgments ; and so the psalmist
saith, 'The wind passeth over it, and it is gone,' Ps. ciii. 16. But
this by the way, because I omitted it in the exposition. When, I say,
you walk in a garden or field, as Isaac did, to meditate, Gen. xxiv. 63,
think thus with yourselves : Here is a goodly show and paintry ; but
alas ! these things are but for a season ; they would fade away of
their own accord, but the breath of the east wind will soon dry them
up ; so are all worldly comforts like flowers in the spring, good in
their season, but very vanishing and perishing.

Obs. 2. That our comforts are perishing in themselves, but espe
cially when the hand of providence is stretched out against them.
The flower fadeth of itself, but chiefly when it is scorched by the
glowing, burning east wind. Our hearts should be loose at all times
from outward things, but especially in times of public desolation ; it
is a sin against providence to affect great things : when God is over
turning all, then there is a burning heat upon the flowers, and God
is gone forth to blast worldly glory : Jer. xlv. 4, 5, * The Lord saith r
I will pluck up this whole land, and seekest thou great things for
thyself ? ' that is, a prosperous condition in a time of public desola
tion ; it is as if a man should be planting flowers when there is a
wind gone forth to blast them. Well, then, take heed you do not
make providence your enemy, then your comforts will become more
perishing. ^ You cannot then expect a comfortable warmth from God,
but a burning heat. There are three sins especially by which you
make providence your enemy, and so the creatures more vain.

1. When you abuse them to serve your lusts. Where there is
pride and wantonness, you may look for a burning ; certainly your
flowers will be scorched and dried up. Pleasant Sodom, when it was-
given to ' pride, and idleness, and fulness of bread/ met with a burn
ing heat indeed, Ezek. xvi. 49 : in Salvian's phrase,1 God will rain
hell out of heaven rather than not visit for such sins.

2. When you make them objects of trust. God can brook no rivals ;
trust being the fairest and best respect of the creatures, it must not be
intercepted, but ascend to God. If you make idols of the creatures,
God will make nothing of them ; the fire of God's jealousy is a burn
ing heat. God took away from Judah the staff and the stay, Isa.
iii. 1 ; that is, that which they made so, excluding him ; for that is the
case in the context. So when you trust in your wealth, as if it must
needs be well with your families, and you were secured against all
judgments, and turns of providence ; certainly God will take away the
staff and the stay, and show that riches are but dead helps, when they
are preferred before the living God, 1 Tim. vi. 17.

1 'Pluit Gehennam e coelo.' — Salvian de Provid.

JAS. I. 11.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 73

3. When you get them by wrong means. Wealth thus gotten is
flesh (like the eagles from the altar) with a coal in it, that devoureth
the whole nest: Hab. ii. 9, 'Woe be to him that coveteth an evil
covetousness, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be de
livered from the power of evil.' You think it is a ready way to
advance you ; no, this is the ready way to ruin all : James v. 3, ' Your
gold and silver shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh
as it were fire;' that is, draw the fire and burning heat of God's
wrath upon yourselves and families.

From that his ways.

Obs. 3. Worldly men pursue wealth with great care and industry.
The rich turneth hither and thither, he hath several ways whereby to
accomplish his ends. In self-denial, covetousness is the ape of grace ;
it ' suffereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,' 1 Cor.
xiii. 6, 7. What pains do men take for things that perish ! Do but
observe their incessant care, earnest labour, and unwearied industry,
and say, how well would this suit with the heavenly treasure ! It is a
pity a plant that would thrive so well in Canaan should still grow in
the soil of Egypt ; that the zealous earnestness of the soul should be
misplaced, and we should take more pains to be rich unto the world
than to be rich towards God. Luke xii. 21. Man fallen is but the ana
gram of man in innocency, he hath the same affections and delights, only
they are transposed and misplaced; therefore do we offend in the
measure, because we mistake in the object. Or else, secondly, observe
their pains and care, and say thus : Shall a lust have more power
upon them than the love of God upon me ? I have higher motives,
and a reward more sure, Prov. xi. 18 ; they are more earnest for an
earthly purchase, and to heap up treasure to themselves, than I am to
enrich my soul with spiritual and heavenly excellences. Surely grace
is an active thing, of as forcible an efficacy as corruption ; why then
do we act with such difference and disproportion ? The fault is not
in grace, but in ourselves. Grace is like a keen weapon in a child's
hand ; it maketh little impression because it is weakly wielded.
Worldly men have the advantage of us in matter of principle, but we
have the advantage of them in matter of motive ; we have higher
motives, but they more entire principles, for what they do, they do
with their whole heart ; but our principles are mixed, and therefore
grace worketh with a greater faintness than corruption doth. But,
however, it is sad. Pambus, in ecclesiastical history, wept when he
saw a harlot dressed with much care and cost, partly to see one take
so much pains for her own undoing, partly because he had not been
so careful to please God as she had been to please a wanton lover.
And truly when we see men ' cumber themselves with much serving,'
and toiling and bustling up and down in the world, and all for riches
that 'take themselves wings and fly away/ we may be ashamed
that we do so little for Christ, and they do so much for wealth, and
that we do not lay out our strength and earnestness for heaven with
any proportion to what they do for the world.

Obs. 4. Lastly, again, from that eV rat? Tropetais, from his ways or
journeys. All our endeavours will be fruitless if God's hand be
against us. As the flower to the burning heat, so is the rich man in

74 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. 1. 12.

his ways ; that is, notwithstanding all his industry and care, God may
soon blast him : they ' earned wages, but put it in a bag with holes/
Hag. i. 6 ; that is, their gains did not thrive with them. Peter
' toiled all night but caught nothing/ till he took Christ into the boat,
Luke v. 5. So you will catch nothing, nothing with comfort and
profit, till you take God along with you : Ps. cxxvii. 2, ' It is vain for
you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows : for so
he giveth his beloved sleep/ Some take this place in a more particular
and restrained sense ; as if David would intimate that all their agita
tions to oppose the reign of Solomon, though backed with much care
and industry, should be fruitless; though Absalom and Adonijah
were tortured with the care of their own ambitious designs, yet God
would give Jedidiah, or his beloved, rest ; that is, the kingdom should
quietly and safely be devolved upon Solomon, who took no such pains
to court the people, and to raise himself up into their esteem as Absa
lom and Adonijah did ; and they ground this exposition partly on the
title of the psalm, ' a, psalm for Solomon/ partly on the name of Solo
mon, who was called Jedidijah, or the beloved of the Lord, 2 Sam.
xii. 24, 25, the word used here, ' he giveth his beloved rest.' But I
suppose this sense is too curious ; for though the psalm be entitled to
Solomon, yet I think not so much by way of prophecy as direction :
for as the 72d Psalm (which also beareth title for Solomon) repre-
senteth to him the model of a kingdom and the -affairs thereof, so this
psalm, the model of a family, with the incident cares and blessings of
it ; and therefore the passages of it are of a more universal and un
limited concernment than to be appropriated to Solomon ; and it is
not to be neglected that the Septuagint turn the Hebrew word plurally,
rot? dyaTTTiTow avrov VTTVOV, ' his beloved ones sleep/ showing that the
sentence is general. The meaning is, then, that though worldly men
fare never so hardly, beat their brains, tire their spirits, rack their
consciences, yet many times all is for nothing ; either God doth not
give them an estate, or not the comfort of it. But his beloved, with
out any of these racking cares, enjoy contentment: if they have not
the world, they have sleep and rest ; with silence submitting to the
will of God, and with quietness waiting for the blessing of God. Well,
then, acknowledge the providence that you may come under the bless
ing ^ of it; labour without God cannot prosper; against God and
against his will in his word, will surely miscarry.

Ver. 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he
is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath pro
mised to them that love him.

Here the apostle concludeth all the former discourse with a general
sentence. I shall despatch it very briefly, because the matter of it often
occurreth in this epistle.

Blessed; that is, already blessed. They are not miserable, as the
world judgeth them : it is a Christian paradox, wherein there is an
allusion to what is said, Job v. 17, ' Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth ; ' it is a wonder, and therefore he calleth the world to
see it — Behold I So the apostle, in an opposition to the judgment of
the world, saith, Blessed.

Is the man, dvrjp. — The word used is only proper to the masculine

JAS. I. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 75

sex, and therefore some l have forced and obtruded some misshapen
conceits upon this scripture ; whereas throughout the epistle we shall
observe our apostle delighteth in the use of this word for both sexes ;
as ver. 23, avSpi, TrapaKvtyavri,, ( A man beholding his face/ &c., in
tending a man or woman, for it answereth to the Hebrew word iscli,
under which the woman also was comprehended.

That endureth, o? vTropevei — that is, that patiently and constantly
beareth. A wicked man suffereth, but he doth not endure: they suffer,
but unwillingly, with murmuring and blasphemy ; but the godly man
endureth ; that is, beareth the affliction with patience and constancy ;
without murmuring, fainting, or blaspheming. Enduring is taken in
a good sense ; as Heb. xii. 7, * If ye endure chastening, God dealeth
with you as sons.' God is not perceived to deal as a father, but when
the affliction is patiently borne, which the apostle calleth enduring
there.

Temptation. — Affliction is so called, as before ; in itself it is a pun
ishment of sin, but to the godly but a trial ; as death, the king of
terrors, or highest of afflictions, is in itself the wages of sin, but to
them, the gate of eternal life.

For ivlien lie is tried, So/ayuo? yevopevos. — The word is often trans
lated approved: Rom. xiv. 18, ' Approved of man ; ' it is 8o/a//.o<?.
So 1 Cor. xi. 19, ' That BOKIJIOI, they which are approved may be
made manifest ; ' so here, when he is made or found approved, that is,
right and sound in the faith ; it is a metaphor taken from metals,
whose excellence is discerned in the fire.

He shall receive; that is, freely; for though none be crowned with
out striving, 2 Tim. ii. 5, yet they are not crowned for striving ; as
in the scripture it is said in many places, God will give every man
according to his work, yet not for his work, for such passages do only
imply (as Ferus,2 a Papist, also granteth) that as evil works shall not
remain unpunished, so neither shall good works be unrewarded.

A crown of life. — It is usual in scripture to set forth the gifts of
God by a crown, sometimes to note the honour that God putteth upon
the creatures : ' Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour,' Ps.
viii. 5 ; sometimes to note the all-sufficiency of God's love. It is as a
crown ; on every side there are experiences of it : so it is said, Ps. ciii.
4, ' He crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies : ' but
most usually it is applied to the heavenly estate : — (1.) Partly to note
the honour of it, as a crown is the emblem of majesty ; and so it noteth
that imperial and kingly dignity to which we are advanced in Christ :
Luke xxii. 29, ' I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath
appointed unto me/ Christ, that left us the cross, hath left us his
crown also : one of Christ's legacies to the church is his own cross ;
therefore Luther saith, Ecclesia est hceres crucis — the church is heir of
the cross. So you see in this place he saith Sum'^/u, I do by will and
testament — so the word signifieth — dispose a kingdom to you; and
that is one reason why heavenly glory is expressed by a crown. (2.)
To note the endless and perpetual fulness that is in it : roundness is

_ 1 ' Beatus vir, non mollis vel effceminatus, sed vir, dictus a virtute animi, virore fidei,
vigore spei.' — Aquinas in locum.
2 Ferus in Mat. in cap. 16. v. 27.

76 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 12.

an emblem of plenty and perpetuity ; there is somewhat on every side,
and there is no end in it: so Ps. xvi. 11, 'In thy presence is fulness
of joy, and pleasures for evermore/ (3.) To note that it is given
after striving ; it was a reward of conquest ; there was a crown set be
fore those that ran a race : to which use the apostle alludeth, 1 Cor.
ix. 24, 25 : ' They which run a race run all, but one receiveth the
prize : so run that ye may obtain. Now, they do it to obtain a cor
ruptible crown, but we an incorruptible ; ' that is, in the races and
Isthmic games near Corinth, the reward was only some garland of
flowers and herbs, which soon faded ; but we run for an incorruptible
crown of glory ; or, as another apostle calleth it, ' A crown of glory
that fadeth not away,' 1 Peter v. 4. Thus you see why heaven is
expressed by a crown ; now sometimes it is called ' a crown of glory,'
to note the splendour of it ; sometimes ' a crown of righteousness/ 2
Tim. iv. 8, to note the ground and rise of it, which is God's truth
engaged by a promise, called God's righteousness in scripture : some
times it is called ' a crown of life,' as Eev. ii. 10, ' Be faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life ; ' because it is not to be
had but in eternal or everlasting life : or else, to note the duration of
it ; it is not a dying, withering crown, as the garland of flowers, but a
living crown, such as will flourish to all eternity.

Which the Lord hath promised. — This is added, partly to show the
certainty of it — we have the assurance of a promise ; partly to note the
ground of expectation — not by virtue of our own merits, but God's
promise. Now there is no particular promise alleged, because it is
the general drift of the whole word of God. In the law there is a pro
mise of mercy : ' To a thousand generations, to them that love him,'
Exod. xx. 6. When all things were ' after the manner of a carnal com
mandment,' the expressions of the promises were also carnal • and that
is the reason why, in the Old Testament, the blessings of the promises
are expressed by * a fat portion,' * long life,' and a ' blessing upon pos
terity ; ' for all these expressions were not to be taken in the rigour of
the letter, but as figures of heavenly joys and eternal life : and there
fore, what was in the commandment, ' mercy to a thousand generations,
to them that love him,' is in the apostle, ' a crown of life to them thai
love him,' the mystery of the expression being opened and unveiled.

To them that love him. — A usual description of the people of God.
But why them that love him, rather than them that serve or obey
him, or some other description? I answer — (1.) Because love is the
sum of the whole law, and the hinge upon which all the command
ments turn : this is the one word into which the Decalogue is abridged ;
therefore Paul saith, Kom. xiii. 10, that ' love is vrX^co^a vo/^ov, the
fulfilling of the law.' (2.) Because it is the great note of our interest
in Christ : faith giveth a right in the promises, and love evidenceth it ;
therefore is it so often specified as the condition of the promises, the
condition that evidenceth our interest in them ; as James ii. 5, ' The
kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him.' He doth
not say 'fear him/ or * trust in him/ though these graces also are im
plied, but chiefly ' to them that love him.' So Kom. viii. 28, ' All
things work together for good to them that love God, to them that
are called according to his purpose : ' where love of God, you see, is

JAS. I. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 77

made the discovery both of effectual calling and election. (3.) Be
cause patience is the fruit of love : Nihil est quod non tolerat quiper-
fecte diligit — he that loveth much will suffer much : and therefore
when the apostle speaketh of enduring temptations, he encourageth
them by the crown of life promised to them that love God : a man
would not suffer for him, unless he did love him.

I shall give you the notes briefly.

Obs. 1. Afflictions do not make the people of God miserable. There
is a great deal of difference between a Christian and a man of the
world : his best estate is vanity, Ps. xxxix. 5 ; and a Christian's
worst is happiness. He that loveth God is like a die ; cast him high
or low, he is still upon a square : x he may be sometimes afflicted, but
he is always happy. There is a double reason for it : —

1. Because outward misery cannot diminish his happiness.

2. Because sometimes it doth increase it.

1. Afflictions cannot diminish his happiness : a man is never miser
able till he hath lost his happiness. Our comfort lieth much in the
choice of our chiefest good. They that say, ' Happy is the people that
is in such a case/ Ps. cxliv. 12-15 ; that is, where there is no com
plaining in their streets, sheep bringing forth thousands, garners full,
oxen strong to labour, &c., they may be soon miserable : all these
things may be gone, with an easy turn of providence, as Job lost all
in an instant. But they that say, ' Happy is the people whose God is
the Lord,' that is, that count it their happiness to enjoy God, when
they lose all, they may be happy, because they have not lost God.
Our afflictions discover our choice and affections; when outward
crosses are the greatest evil, it is a sign God was not the chiefest good ;
for our grief, in the absence ©f any comfort, is according to the happi
ness that we fancied in the enjoyment of it. One that hath setup his
rest in God can rejoice in his interest, ' though the fields should yield
no meat, and the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there
should be no herd in the stalls.' These are great evils, and soon felt
by a carnal heart ; yet the prophet, in the person of all believers, saith,
Hab. iii. 18, ' I will joy in the Lord, and rejoice in the God of my
salvation/ In the greatest defect and want of earthly things there is
happiness, and comfort enough in a covenant-interest.

2. Sometimes afflictions increase their happiness, as they occasion
more comfort and further experience of grace : God seldom afflicteth
in vain. Such solemn providences and dispensations leave us better
or worse, the children of God gain profit by them, for it is God's
course to recompense outward losses with inward enjoyments : 2 Cor.
i. 5, ' For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also consolation
aboundeth by Christ;' that is, inward comforts and experiences,
according to the rate of outward sufferings. Now he hath not the
heart of a Christian thai; can think himself more happy in temporal
commodities than spiritual experiences : a wilderness that giveth us
more of God is to be preferred above all the pleasures and treasures
of Egypt. Learn, then, that they may be blessed whom men count
miserable. They are not always happy to whom all things happen
according to their desires, but they that endure evil with victory and

1 "lerpdyuvos dvrjp. — Arist.'

78 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 12.

patience ; the world judge th according to outward appearance, and
therefore is often mistaken. Nemo atiorum sensu miser est, sed suo,
saith Salvian1 — a godly man's happiness, or misery, is not to be
judged by the world's sense or feeling, but his own ; his happiness and
yours differ. The apostle saith, 1 Cor. xv. 19, 'If our hopes were
only in this world, we were of all men most miserable ; ' if worldly
enjoyments were our blessedness, a Christian might not only be miser
able, but c most miserable.' The main difference between a worldly
man and a gracious man is in their chiefest good and their utmost
end ; and therefore a worldly man cannot judge of a spiritual man's
happiness. But, saith the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 15, ' The spiritual man
judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man : ' you think
that their estate is misery, but they know that yours is vanity. You
cannot judge them, but by the light of the Spirit they judge all
things. They that count God their chiefest good know no other evil
but the darkening of his countenance ; in all other cases, ' Blessed is
he that endureth : ' they lose nothing by affliction, but their sins.

Obs. 2. Of all afflictions those are sweetest which we endure for
Christ's sake. The apostle saith, ' Blessed are they that endure temp
tation ; ' that is, persecution for religion's sake. The immediate strokes
of providence are more properly corrections ; the violences of men
against us are more properly trials ; there is comfort and blessedness
in corrections, namely, when we receive profit by them : Ps. xciv. 12,
'Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, 0 Lord, and instructest
out of thy law/ Mark, when the chastening is from the Lord, there
is comfort in it, if there be instruction in it : but it is far more sweet
when we are merely called to suffer for a good conscience : Mat. v.
10, ' Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake/
There is the blessedness more clear. Corrections aim at the mortify
ing of sin, and so are more humbling : but trials aim at the discovery
of grace, and so are more comfortable. Corrections imply guilt ;
either we have sinned, or are likely to sin, and then God taketh the
rod in hand. But trials befall us, that the world may know our will
ingness to choose the greatest affliction before the least sin, and there
fore must needs be matter of more joy and blessedness to us. In
short, corrections are a discovery and silent reproof of our corruptions ;
but trials a discovery and public manifestation of our innocency, not a
reproof, so much as an honour and grace to us. Well, then, when you
are called to suffer for Christ, apply this comfort : it is a blessed thing
to endure evil for that cause ; only be sure your hearts be upright, that
it be for Christ indeed, and your hearts be right with Christ.

1. That it be for Christ. It is not the blood and suffering that
maketh the martyr, but the cause. We are all apt to entitle our
quarrel to Christ, therefore we should go upon the more sure grounds.
The glory of our sufferings is marred when there is somewhat of an
evil deed in them, 1 Peter iv. 15. And we cannot be so cheerful as
in a cause purely religious ; evils are not welcomed that come mixed
in our thoughts, partly trial, and partly punishment.

2. That your heart be right for Christ. The form of religion may
many times draw a persecution upon itself, as well as the power , the

1 Sal. de Gub. Dei, lib. i.

JAS. I. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 79

world hateth both, though the form less. Oh I how sad is it that a
man cometh to suffer, and he hath nothing to bear him out but an
empty form. Either such kind of persons ' make shipwreck of a good
conscience,' or else, out of an obstinacy to their faction, do but sacri
fice a stout body to a stubborn mind ; or, which is worse, have nothing
to support them but the low principles of vainglory and worldly
applause. Oh ! consider, there is no blessedness in such sufferings ;
then may you suffer cheerfully when you appeal to God's omnisciency
for your uprightness, as they do in the psalm, ' The Lord knoweth
the secrets of the heart ; yea, for thy sake are we slain all the day
long/ Ps. xliv. 21 , 22. Can you appeal to the God that knoweth
secrets, and say, For thy sake are we exposed to such hazards in the
world ?

Obs. 3. From that when he is tried, note that before crowning
there must be a trial. We have no profit at all by the affliction,
neither grace nor glory, till there be some wrestling and exercise ; for
grace, the apostle showeth plainly, Heb. xii. 11, 'It yieldeth the quiet
fruits of righteousness, rot? yejv^ao-^evo^, to them that are exercised
thereby.' The pleasantness and blessedness is not found by and by,
but after much struggling and wrestling with God in prayer, long
acquaintance with the affliction. So for glory, the apostle showeth
here, ' when he is proved, he shall receive a crown.' In the building
of the temple the stones were first carved and hewed, that the sound
of hammer might not be heard in God's house ; so the living stones
are first hewn before they are set in the New Jerusalem. The apostle
saith, 2 Tim. ii. 5, ' If a man strive for masteries, he is not crowned
unless he strive lawfully ; ' that is, unless he perform the conditions
and laws of the exercise in which he is engaged, he cannot expect the
reward ; so neither can we from God till we have passed through all
the stages of Christianity. The trial doth not merit heaven, but
always goeth before it. Before we are brought to glory, God will
first wean us from sin and the world, which the apostle calleth a being
1 made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light,' Col. i. 12.
And this work is helped on by many afflictions. Those serve to make
us meet for the communion of saints, not to merit it. When God
crowneth us, he doth but crown his own gifts in us.1 Well, then,
bear your trials with the more patience. It is said, Acts xiv. 22,
that Paul 'confirmed the souls of the disciples, showing that
through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God.'
It is the common lot. There is none goeth to heaven without their
trial. As the way to Canaan lay through a howling wilderness and
desert, so the path to heaven lieth through much affliction. He that
passeth his life without trial knoweth not himself, nor hath no oppor
tunity to discover his uprightness.2

06s. 4. That it is good to oppose the glory of our hopes against the
abasure of our sufferings. Here are trials, but we look for a crown
of glory. This is the way to counterpoise the temptation, and in the

1 'Deus nihil coronat nisi dona sua.' — Aug., lib. v. horn. 14.

2 'Miseruin te judico quod nunquam fuisti miser; transistis sine adversario yitam; nemo
sciet quid potueris ; ne tu quidem ipse ; opus est ad notitiam sui experimento, quso
quisque posset nisi tentando non didicit.' — Sen. lib. de Provid., cap. 4.

80 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 12.

conflict between the flesh and spirit, to come in to the relief of the
better part. Thus Paul saith, the inward man is strengthened,
* When we look not to the things that are seen, but the things that
are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the
things that are not seen are eternal,' 2 Cor. iv. 18. A direct opposi
tion of our hopes to our sufferings maketh them seem light and easy.
Thus our Saviour biddeth us consider, ' When you are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, yours is the kingdom of God/ Mat. v. 10.
Though ye be deprived of all you have, yet ye cannot be deprived
of heaven. Eemember, heaven is still yours. You may lose an
estate, but you have an assurance of a crown of glory. Thus Basil
speaketh of some martyrs that were cast out all night naked in a cold
frosty time, and were to be burned the next day, how they comforted
themselves in this manner : * The winter is sharp, but paradise is
sweet ; here we shiver for cold, but the bosom of Abraham will make
amends for all/ &C.1 Well, then, make use of this heavenly wisdom ;
consider your hopes, the glory of them, the truth of them.

1. The glory of them. There are two things trouble men in their
sufferings — disgrace and death. See what provision God hath made
against these fears : he hath promised a crown against the ignominy
of your sufferings, and against temporal death a crown of life. A
man can lose nothing for God, but it is abundantly recompensed and
made up again ; the crown of thorns is turned into a crown of glory,
and losing of life is the ready way to save it, Mat. x. 39. Thus, it
is good, you see, to oppose our hopes to our sorrows, and not altogether
to look to the present dangers and sufferings, but to the crown, the
crown of life that is laid up for us.2 Extreme misery, without hope
of redress, overwhelmeth the soul ; and, therefore, the promises do
everywhere oppose a proper comfort to that case where the feeling is
like to be sorest, that faith may have a present and ready answer to
such extremities as sense urgeth ; as Stephen, in the midst of his
sufferings, ' looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God/ Acts vii. 55. There
was somewhat of miracle and extraordinary ecstasy in that vision,
the glory of heaven being not only represented to his soul, but to his
senses ; but it was a pledge of that which falleth out ordinarily
in the sufferings of God's children, for their hearts are then
usually raised to a more fixed and distinct consideration of their hopes,
whereby the danger arid temptation is defeated and overcome. It is
very observable that when Moses and Elijah came to speak with
Christ about his sufferings, they appeared in such forms of glory as
did allay the sharpness of the message ; for it is said, Luke ix. 31,
' They appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should
accomplish at Jerusalem ; ' intimating that the crown of thorns
should put us in mind of the crown of glory ; and when we are
clothed with shame and sorrow, we should think of the shining gar
ments ; for the messengers of the cross were apparelled with a shin
ing glory.

1 ' Apifj,f>s 6 xei/iwi', dXXa y\VKfo 6 7ra/od5ewos* dXyetvrj -5) ftfyis, dXX i)8eia y a-rr6\av<Tis.
fuicpbv dvaf^eivu^ev Kal 6 /(6X7ros ^uas 6d\\f>et TOV Trar/ndpxou,' &c. — Basil ad 40 Martyr.

2 'Pericula non respicit martyr, coronas respicit.' — Basil, ubi supra.

JAS. I. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 81

2. The truth of them. It is not only a * crown of glory ' that you
expect, but a ' crown of righteousness/ 2 Tim. iv. 8, that is, which
the righteous God will surely bestow upon you ; for though God
maketh the promise in grace, yet it being once made, his truth, which
is often called his righteousness in scripture, obligeth him to perform
it.1 Well, then, consider thus : I have the promise of the righteous
God to assure me, and shall I doubt or draw back ? He is too holy
to deceive — ' God that . cannot lie,' Titus i. 2 ; so immutable and
faithful that he cannot repent and change his mind, Num. xxiii. 19 ;
so omnipotent and able that he cannot be disappointed and hindered,
Job ix. 12 ; so gracious that he will not forget : ' Hath he said, and
shall he not do it ? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good ? '
Oh ! that our trust were as sure as his promises, and there were no
more doubt to be made of our interest than of his truth ! Every
promise is built upon four pillars : God's justice or holiness, which
will not suffer him to deceive ; his grace or goodness, which will not
suffer him to forget ; his truth, which will not suffer him to change;
his power, which maketh him able to accomplish.

Obs. 5. Lastly, That no enduring is acceptable to God but such as
doth arise from love. The crown which God hath promised, he doth
not say, ' to them that suffer,' but ' to them that love him/ A man
may suffer for Christ, that is, in his cause, without any love to him,
but it is nothing worth : 1 Cor. xiii. 3, ' If I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing/ Through
natural stoutness and stubbornness men may be constant in their way,
and, as I said before, yield a stout body to a stubborn mind ; and yet,
when they are burning in the fires, their souls burn with no zeal or
love to God's glory. There are many who would die for Christ if
they were put to it, yet will not quit a lust for him. Vicious persons
that die in a good cause are but like a dog's head cut off for sacri
fice. Well, then, do not think that mere suffering will excuse a
wicked life. It is observable that Christ saith last of all, * Blessed
are they that suffer for righteousness' sake,' Mat. v. 10, as intimating
that a martyr must have all the preceding graces ; first, ' Blessed
are the poor in spirit ; blessed are the pure in heart ; ' then, ' Blessed
are they that suffer/ First, grace is required, and then martyrdom.
The victory is less over outward inconveniences than inward lusts ;
for these, being more rooted in our nature, are more hardly overcome.
Under the law the priests were to search the beasts brought for burnt-
offerings, whether scabbed or mangy, &c. A burnt-offering, if
scabby, is not acceptable to God. In short, that love that keepeth
the commandments is best able to make us suffer for them. Philo
sophy may teach us to endure hardships, as Calanus in Curtius
willingly offered his body to the fires ; but grace only can teach us
to overcome lusts. We read of many that, out of greatness or sullen-
ness of spirit, could offer violence to nature, but were at a loss when
they came to deal with a corruption ; so easy is it to cut off a member
rather than 'a lust, and to withstand an enemy rather than a tempta
tion 1 Therefore the scriptures, when they set out an outward enemy,
though never so fierce, call him flesh, ' with them is an arm of flesh ; '

1 ' Promittendo se debitorem fecit.' — Aug.
VOL. IV. X

32 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

but when they speak of the spiritual combat, they make it a higher
work, and of another nature : ' We fight not against flesh and
blood'/ &c., Eph. vi. 12. Learn then to do for God, that you may
the better die for him ; for a wicked man, as he profaneth his actions,
so his sufferings— his blood is but as swine's blood, a defilement to

the altar.

Other notes might be observed out of this verse, but they may be
collected either out of the exposition, or supplied out of observations
on chap. ii. ver. 5, where suitable matter is discussed.

Ver. 13. Let no man say, lohen he is tempted, I am tempted of God ;
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.

He cometh now to another kind of temptations ; for having spoken
of outward trials, he taketh occasion to speak of these inward tempta
tions, that thereby he might remove a blasphemous error concerning
the cause of them. It is clear that those outward trials are from God,
but these inward trials, or temptations to sin, are altogether incon
sistent with the purity and holiness of his nature, as the apostle proveth
in this and the following verses.

Let no man, ivhen he is tempted, ///^Set? ireipa^o^evos — that is,
tempted to sin, for in this sense is the word used in scripture ; as
SoKi/jid&v, or trial, is the proper word for the other temptation, so
Treipd&iv is the proper word for temptations to sin ; thus the devil is
called o ireipd&v, the tempter, Mat. iv. 3 ; and in the Lord's Prayer
we pray that we may not be led ei? Treipaa-^ov, ' into temptation/
chiefly intending that we may not be cast upon solicitations to evil ;
so here, when he is tempted, that is, so solicited to sin that he is
overcome by it.

Say ; that is, either in word or thought, for a thought is verbum
mentis, the saying of the heart ; and some that dare not lisp out such
a blasphemy certainly dare imagine it ; for the apostle implies that
the creature is apt to say, to have some excuse or other.

/ am tempted of God ; that is, it was he solicited, or enforced me to
evil ; or, if he would not have me sin, why would not he hinder me ?

For God cannot be tempted with evil. — Here is the reason, drawn
from the unchangeable holiness of God : he cannot any way be seduced
and tempted into evil. Some read it actively, he is not the tempter of
evil ; but this would confound it with the last clause ; some, as Sal-
meron, out of Clemens Komanus,1 render the sense thus : God is not
the tempter of evil persons, but only of the good, by afflictions ;
but that is a nicety which will not hold true in all cases, and doth not
agree with the original phrase ; for it is not TWV Ka/ca)v, as referring it
to evil persons, but simply without an article, KCLKWV, as referring it to
evil things. The sum is, God cannot, by any external applications, or ill
motions from within, be drawn aside to that which is unjust.

Neither tempteth he any man; that is, doth not love to seduce
others, willing that men should be conformed to the holiness of his own
nature. He tempteth not, either by inward solicitation or by such an
inward or outward dispensation as may enforce us to sin.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. From that let no man say, that man is apt to say, or

1 ''A56/ct/xos avrjp ctTretpaaros iraph ry 0e<£.' — Clem. Rom. lib. ii. Const., cap. 8.

JAS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 83

to transfer the guilt of his own miscarriages. When they are seduced
by their own folly, they would fain transact the guilt and blame upon
others. Thus Aaron shifts his crime upon the people, upon their
solicitations, Exod. xxxii. 23, 24, ' They said, Make us gods, and I
cast it into the fire, and thereof came the calf.' Mark, thereof came,
as if it were a work of chance rather than art. So Pilate, upon the
Jews' instigation, Mat. xxvii. 24, ' Look ye to it.' So ignorant men,
their errors upon their teachers ; if they are wrong, they have been
taught so ; and therefore Jeremiah says, Jer. iv. 10, ' Ah ! Lord God,
surely thou hast greatly deceived this people ; ' that is, 0 Lord, they
will say thou hast deceived them ; it was thy prophets told them so.
So Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 15, ' The people spared the best of the sheep and
of the oxen ; ' and ver. 24, ' I feared the people.' It was out of fear
of others that entreated ; the people would have it so. So many, if
they are angry, say they are provoked ; if they swear, others urged
them to it ; as the Shelomith's son blasphemed in strife, Lev. xxiv. 10.
So if drawn to excess of drink, or abuse of the creatures, it was long
of others that enticed them. Well, then : —

1. Beware of these vain pretences. Silence and owning of guilt is far
more becoming : God is most glorified when the creatures lay aside their
shifts. You shall see, Lev. xiii. 45, ' The leper in whom the plague i?
shall have his clothes rent and his head bare, and he shall put a covering
upon his upper lip, and he shall cry, Unclean, unclean ; ' all was to be
naked and open but only his upper lip ; he was not to open his mouth
in excuses. It is best to have nothing to say, nothing but confession
of sin ; leprosy must be acknowledged. The covering of the upper
lip among the Hebrews was the sign of shameful conviction.

2. Learn that all these excuses are vain and frivolous, they will not
hold with God. Aaron is reproved, notwithstanding his evasion.
Pilate could not wash off the guilt when he washed his hands. He
that crucified our Saviour crucified himself afterward.1 Ignorance is
not excused by ill teaching : * The blind lead the blind,' and not one,
but ' both fall into the ditch,' Mat. xv. 14 — the blind guide and the
blind follower. So Ezek. iii. 18, ' The man shall die in his iniquity,
but his soul will I require at thy hand.' It will be ill for the teacher,
and ill for the misled soul too. So Saul is rejected from being king,
for obeying the voice of the people rather than the Lord, 1 Sam. xv.
23. Shelomith's son was stoned, though he blasphemed in spite, Lev.
xxiv. 14. And it went ill with Moses, though they provoked his
spirit, so that ' he spake unadvisedly with his lips,' Ps. cvi. 33, 34.
Certainly it is best when we have nothing to say but only, Unclean,
unclean !

Obs. 2. Creatures, rather than not transfer their guilt, will cast it
upon God himself. They blame the Lord in their thoughts ; it is
foolish to cast it altogether upon Satan — to say, I was tempted of
Satan. Alas ! if there were no Satan to tempt we should tempt our
selves. His suggestions and temptations would not work were there
not some intervening thought, and that maketh us guilty. Besides,
some sins have their sole rise from our own corruption, as the im
perfect animals are sometimes bred ex putri materia, only out of

1 Euseb. Eccles. Hist., lib. ii. cap. 7.

84 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

slimy matter, and at other times they are engendered by copulation.
It is useless to cast it upon others — I was tempted of others. Actions
cannot he accomplished without our own concurrence, and we must
bear the guilt. But it is blasphemous to cast it upon God, and say,
' I am tempted of God;' and yet we are apt to do so, — partly to be
clear in our own thoughts. Men would do anything rather than think
basely of themselves, for it is man's disposition to be ' right in his
own eyes/ Prov. xvi. 2. We love those glasses that would make us
show fairest. It is against nature for a man willingly to profess and
own his own shame : Job. xxxi. 33, ' If I hid my sin as did Adam,'
i.e., more liominum, as Adam and all Adam's children do. Men would
be clear and better than they are. Partly because by casting it upon
God the soul is most secure. When he that is to punish sin beareth
the guilt of it, the soul is relieved from much horror and bondage ;
therefore, in the way of faith, God's transacting our sin upon Christ
is most satisfying to the spirit : Isa. liii. 6, ' The Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.' Now, we would lay it upon God by odious
aspersions of his power and providence ; for if we could once make
God a sinner, we would be secure. You see we do not fear men that
are as faulty as ourselves ; they need pardon as well as we, and there
fore is it that the soul doth so wickedly design to bring God into a
partnership and fellowship of our guilt. Partly through a wicked de
sire that is in men to blemish the being of God. Man naturally hateth
God ; and our spite is shown this way, by polluting and profaning
his glory, and making it become vile in our thoughts ; for since we
cannot raze out the sense of the deity, wre would destroy the dread and
reverence of it. It is a saying of Plutarch, Malo de me did nullum
esse Plutarchum quam malum esse Plutarclium, de Deo male sentire
quam Deum esse negare pejus duco. We cannot deny God, and there-
lore we debase him, which is worst, as it is better not to be than to
be wicked ; we think him ' as one of us/ Ps. 1. 21 ; and the apostle
saith, ' We turn his glory into a lie/ Rom. i. 25. Well, then, beware
of this wickedness of turning sin upon God. The more natural it is to
us the more should we take heed of it. We charge God with our
evils and sins divers ways, —

1. When we blame his providence, the state of things, the times,
the persons about us, the circumstances of providence, as the laying
of tempting objects in our way, our condition, &c., as if God's disposing
of our interests were a calling us to sin : thus Adam, Gen. iii. 12, ' The
woman which thou gavest me, she gave me, and I did eat.' Mark, it
is obliquely reflected upon God, ' The woman which tliou gavest me.'
So many will plead the greatness of their distractions and incum-
brances. God hath laid so many miseries and discouragements upon
them, and cast them upon such hard times, that they are forced to
such shifts ; whereas, alas ! God sendeth us miseries, not to make us
worse, but to make us better, as Paul seemeth to argue in 1 Cor. x. 13,
14: if ^ they did turn to idolatry, the fault was not in their sufferings
and trials, but in themselves. Thus you make God to tempt you to
sin when you transfer it upon providence, and blame your condition
rather than yourselves. Providence may dispose of the object, but it
doth not impel or excite the lust ; it appointeth the condition, but

JAS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 85

Satan setteth up the snare. It was by God's providence that the
wedge of gold lay in Achan's way, that Bathsheba was offered naked
to David's eye, that the sensual man hath abundance, that the timo
rous is surprised with persecution, &c. All these things are from God,
for the fault lieth not here. The outward estate, or the creatures
that have been the occasions of our sinning, cannot be blamed : as
beauty in women, pleasantness in wine. These are good creatures ot
God, meant for a remedy ; we turn them into a snare. The more of
God's goodness or glory is seen in any creature, the greater check it
is to a temptation, for so far it is a memorial of God ; and therefore
some have observed that desires simply unclean are most usually
stirred up towards deformed objects. Beauty in itself is some stricture
and resemblance of the divine majesty and glory, and therefore cannot
but check motions altogether brutish. It is very observable that of
the apostle Peter : 2 Pet. i. 4, ' The corruption that is in the world
through lust.' The world is only the object ; the cause is lust. The
reason why men are covetous, or sensual, or effeminate, is not in gold,
or wine, or women, but in men's naughty affections and dispositions.
So also it is very observable, that when the apostle John would sum
up the contents of that world which is opposite to the love of God, he
doth not name the objects, but the lusts ; the fault is there. He doth
not say, Whatsoever is in the world is pleasures, or honours, or
profits, but ' the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride
of life/ and addeth, ' These are not of the Father, but of the world/
1 John ii. 16 ; that is, not of God, as riches, and honour, and other
outward things are, but these are parts of that world that man hath
made, the world in our own bowels, as the poison is not in the flower,
but in the spider's nature.

2. By ascribing sin to the defect and faint operation of the divine
grace. Men will say they could do no otherwise ; they had no more
grace given them by God : Prov. xix. 3, ' The foolishness of man
perverteth his ways, and his heart fretteth against the Lord.' They
say it was long of God ; he did not give more grace. They ' corrupt
themselves in what they know/ Jude 10, and then complain, God
gave no power. Men naturally look upon God as a Pharaoh, requiring
brick where he gave no straw. The servant in the Gospel would
make his master in the fault why he did not improve his talent:
Mat. xxv. 24, ' I knew thou wert an hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed, and there
fore I went and hid the talent ; ' as if that were all the cause.

3. When men lay all their miscarriages upon their fate, and the
unhappy stars that shone at their birth, these are but blind flings at
God himself, veiled under reflections upon the creature. Alas ! ' who
is it that bringeth out Mazzaroth in his season, that ordereth the stars
in their course ? is it not the Lord ? ' To this sort you may refer
them that storm at any creatures, because they dare not openly and
clearly oppose themselves against heaven ; .as Job curseth the clay of
his birth, Job iii. 3, as if it had been unlucky to him ; and others curse
some lower instruments.

4. When men are angry they know not why. They are loath to
spend any holy indignation upon themselves; therefore, feeling the

86 AN EXPOSITION. WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

stings and gripes of conscience, they fret and fume, and know not
why. They would fain break out against God, but dare not ; as
David himself, 2 Sam. vi. 8, ' David was displeased because the Lord
had made a breach upon Uzzah.' He was angry, but could not tell
with whom to be angry ; he should have been angry with his own
folly and ignorance. Wicked men break out apparently : Isa. viii.
21/22, ' They shall fret themselves, and curse their God, and their
king, and look upward ; and they shall look to the earth,' &c. Sin
proving unhappy, vexeth the soul ; and then men curse and rave, and
break out into indecencies of passion and madness, accusing God,
and providence, and instruments, and any but themselves. So. Kev.
xvi. 21, 'They blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their
plagues;' the madness of their rage breaketh out into open blas
phemy. But in the children of God it is more secretly carried ; there
is a storming in their hearts, but they dare not give it vent ; as in
Jonah, chap, iv., he was vexed, and surcharged with passion, but
knew not upon whom to disgorge it.

5. Most grossly, when you think he useth any suggestion to the
soul, to persuade it and incline it to evil. Satan may come, and, by
the help of fancy and the senses, transmit evil counsel to the soul.
But God doth not, as more fully hereafter : Mat. v. 37, ' Whatsoever
is beyond these cometh of evil ; ' in the original it is e'/c Trovrjpov, not
only of the evil heart, but the evil serpent ; from the devil, and our
corruption, if it be beside the rule. There is Satan's counsel in all
this, not the Lord's.

6. When you have an ill understanding and conceit of his decrees,
as if they did necessitate you to sin. Men will say, Who can help it ?
God would have it so, — as if that were an excuse for all. Though God
hath decreed that sin shall be, yet he doth neither infuse evil nor
enforce you to evil. God doth not infuse evil ; that which draweth
you to it is your own concupiscence, as in the next verse. He doth
not give you an evil nature or evil habits ; these are from yourselves.
He doth enforce you, neither physically, by urging and inclining the
will to act, nor morally, by counselling and persuading, or commanding
you to it. God leaveth you to yourselves, casteth you in his pro
vidence, and in pursuance of his decrees, upon such things as are a
snare to you ; that is all that God doth, as anon will more fully
appear. I only now take notice of that wickedness which is in our
natures, whereby we are apt to blemish God, and excuse ourselves.

06s. 3. From that he cannot be tempted with evil, that God is
so immutably good and holy that he is above the power of a tempta
tion. Men soon warp and vary, but he cannot be tempted. There is
a wicked folly in man which maketh us measure God by the creature ;
and, because we can be tempted, think God can be tempted also ; as
suppose, enticed to give way to our sins. Why else do they desire him
to prosper them in their evil projects, to further unjust gain, or un
clean intents ? — as the whore, Prov. vii. 14, had her vows and peace-
offerings to prosper in her wantonness. And generally, we deal with
God as if he could be tempted and wrought to a compliance with our
corrupt ends, as Solomon speaketh of sacrifice offered with an evil
mind, Prov. xxi. 27 ; that is, to gain the favour of heaven in some

JAS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 87

evil undertaking and design. Thus the king of Moab hoped to entice
God by the multitude of his sacrifices, seven altars, seven oxen, seven
rams, Num. xxii. , and the prophet, of some that thought to draw God
into a liking of their oppression: Zech. xi. 5, 'Blessed be God, I am
rich.' So in these times wicked men have a pretence of religion, as if
they would allure the Lord to enter into their secret, and come under
the banner of their faction and conspiracy. Oh ! what base thoughts
have carnal men of God ! No wonder the word of God is made a
nose of wax, when God himself is made an idol or puppet, that
moveth by the wire of every carnal worshipper! Oh! check this
blasphemy. God cannot be tempted ; he is immutably just and holy :
Ilab. i. 13, ' Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst
not look on iniquity.' Iniquity shall never have a good look from
him. Oh ! then, how should we tremble that are easily carried aside
with temptation ! How can you stand before the God that cannot be
tempted ?

Uses of this note are two : —

1. It is an inducement to get an interest in God, and more com
munion with him : a believer is ' made partaker of the divine nature,'
2 Peter i. 4. Now the more of the divine nature in you, the more you
are able to stand against temptations. We are easily carried aside,
because we have more of man than God in us. We are so mutable,
that if all memory of sin and Satan were abolished, man himself
would become his own devil ; but God is at the same stay. Oh ! let
us covet more of the divine nature, that when the tempter cometh he
may find the less in us. We do in nothing so much resemble God as
in immutable holiness.

2. You may make use of it to the purpose in hand. When natural
thoughts rise in us, thoughts against the purity of God, say thus :
Surely God cannot be the author of sin, who is the ultor or the avenger
of it ; he is at the same pass and stay of holiness, and cannot warp
aside to evil. Especially make use of it when anything is said of God
in scripture which doth not agree with that standing copy of his holi
ness, the righteous law which he hath given us. Do not think it any
variation from that immutable tenor of purity and justice which is in
his nature, for * he cannot be tempted ; ' as when he bade Abraham
offer his son, it was not evil, partly because God may require the life of
any of his creatures when he will ; partly because, being the lawgiver,
he may dispense with his own law : and a peculiar precept is not in
force when it derogateth from a general command, to wit, that we
must do whatsoever God requireth: so in bidding them spoil the
Egyptians. God is not bound to our rule ; the moral law is a rule to
us, not to himself, &c. In all such cases salve the glory of God, for he
is aTreipacrros KCLK&V, altogether incapable of the least sin or evil.

Obs. 4. From that neither tempteth he any man, that the Lord
is no tempter ; the author of all good cannot be the author of sin.
God useth many a moving persuasion to draw us to holiness, not a
hint to encourage us to sin ; certainly they are far from the nature of
God that entice others to wickedness, for he tempteth no man — man
tempteth others many ways :

1. By commands, when you contribute your authority to the counte-

88 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

nancing of it. It is the character of Jeroboam that he ' made Israel
to sin : ' ' Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin/ It is
again and again repeated ; the guilt of a whole nation lieth upon his
shoulders ; Israel ruined him, and he ruined Israel. So 2 Chron. xxxiii.
9, ' Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err,
and do worse than the heathens/ Mark, he made them ; their sins are
charged upon your score. In the 7th of the Revelations, where the
tribes are numbered, Dan is altogether left out, and Ephraim is not
mentioned. Dan was the first leading tribe that by example went over
to idols : Judges xviii., and Ephraim by authority : so some give the
reason.

2. By their solicitations and entreaties, when men become panders
to others' lusts : Prov. vii. 21, ' With much fair speech she caused him
to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him/ Mark, she
caused him to yield, and then forced him ; first he began to incline,
and then he could no longer resist. When such Eves lay forth their
apples, what evil cometh by it ? Solicitations are as the bellows to
blow up those latent sparkles of sin which are hidden in our natures
into a flame.

3. Those that soothe up or encourage men in their evil ways, calling
evil good and good evil, like Ahab's prophets. Their word is, ' Go up
and prosper ; ' they cry, Peace, peace ! to a soul utterly sunk and lost in
a pit of perdition. Oh ! how far are these from the nature of God. He
tempteth no man ; but these are devils in man's shape ; their work is
to seduce and tempt — murderers of souls, yea (as Epiphanius calleth
the Novatians), murderers of repentance.1 Dives in hell had more
charity ; he would have some to testify to his brethren * lest they came
into that place of torment,' Luke xvi. 28. But these are factors for
hell, negotiate for Satan, strengthen the hands of the wicked, and
(which God taketh worse) discourage and set back those that were
looking towards heaven. So the apostle, 2 Peter ii. 18, they 'allure
through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that
were clean escaped from them that live in error, rot)? OVTCDS cnrofyv-
yovTas, really or verily escaped, that is, had begun to profess the gospel ;
or, as some copies have, oXf/yw? aTrocfrvyovTas, having a little escaped
from error ; thence the vulgar eos qui paululum effugiunt, with which
the Syriac and Arabic translations agree ; 2 and so it showeth how ill
God taketh it, that the early growth and budding of grace should be
blasted, and as soon as they began to profess any change, that a seducer
should set them back again, and entangle those that had made some
escape, and were in a fair way to a holy life. This is Satan's dis
position outright : the dragon watched for the man-child as soon as he
was born, Bev. xii. 4, and these make advantage of those early ten
dencies and dispositions to faith which are in poor souls ; for while they
are deeply affected with their sins, and admiring the riches and grace
of Christ, they strike in with some erroneous representations, and, under
a colour of liberty and gospel, reduce and bring them back to their old
looseness.

Use 2. If God tempteth no man, then it informeth us that God can-

1 ' TOI)J Novels TTJS /AeTavolas.' — Epiphan.

2 So see Jerom. lib. iii. contra Jovin. et Aug. de Fide et Operibus, cap. 25.

JAS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 89

not be the author of sin. I shall here take occasion a little to enlarge
upon that point. I shall first clear those places which seem to imply
it ; then, secondly, show you what is the efficiency and concurrence of
God about sin.

I. For the clearing of the places of scripture. They are of divers
ranks ; there are some places that seem to say that God doth tempt, as
Gen. xxii. 1, ' God tempted Abraham ; ' so in many other places ; but
that was but a trial of his faith, not a solicitation to sin. There is a
tempting by way of trial, and a tempting by way of seclucement.1
God trieth their obedience, but doth not stir them up to sin. But you
will say, there are other places which seem to hint that God doth
solicit, incite, and stir up to sin ; as 1 Chron. v. 26, ' God stirred up
the spirit of Pul, the king of Assyria, to carry away the Jews captive ; '
but that was not evil, to punish an hypocritical nation, but just and
holy, a part of his corrective discipline ; and God's stirring implieth
nothing but the designation of his providence, and the ordering of that
rage and fury that in them was stirred up by ambition and other evil
causes, as a correction to his people. So also 2 Sani. xxiv. 1, ; The
anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David to
number the people.' But compare it with 1 Chron. xxi. 1, and you
shall see it is said, ' Satan stood up and provoked David to number the
people ;' and so some explain one place by the other, and refer that he
to Satan, ' The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he/
(that is, the devil) ; or it may be referred to the last antecedent, the
Lord, whose anger is said to be stirred up ; he moved, that is permitted
Satan to move, by withdrawing himself from David. God moved
permissive, Satan efficaciter : God suffered, Satan tempted ; for God
is often in scripture said to do that which he doth but permit to
be done ; as to * Awaken the sword against the man his fellow/ Zech.
xiii. 7, that is, to stir up all that rage which was exercised upon
Christ ; and the reason of such expressions is because of the activeness
of his providence in and about sin, for he doth not barely permit it,
but dispose circumstances and occasions, and limit and overrule it, so
as it may be for good. Thus also Ps. cv. 25, 'He turned their heart
to hate his people, and to deal subtilely with his servants/ The mean
ing is, God only offereth the occasion by doing good to his people. The
Egyptians pursued them out of envy and jealousy. God, I say, only
gave the occasion, did not restrain their malice; therefore he is said to
do it. There are other places which imply that God hardeneth,
blindeth sinners, delivereth them over to a reprobate sense, serideth
them a strong delusion ; asKom. i. 2 ; Thes. ii. 11, and in many other
places. I answer in general to them all : — God, by doing these things,
doth not tempt the good that they may become evil, but only most
justly punisheth the evil with evil : this hardening, blinding, is not a
withdrawing a good quality from them, but a punishment according
to their wickedness. Particularly God is said to harden, as he doth
not soften ; he doth not infuse evil, but only withhold grace ; hardness
of heart is man's sin, but hardening, God's judgment. So again, God
is said to make blind as he doth not enlighten, as freezing and dark
ness follow upon the absence of the sun : he doth not infuse evil, nor

1 ' Diabolus tentat ; Deus probat.' — Tertul. de Orat.

90 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

take away any good thing from them, but only refuseth to give them
more grace, or to confirm them in the good they have. So also God
is said to give up to lusts when he doth not restrain us, but leaveth us
to our own sway and the temptations of Satan. So God is said to send
a strong lie when he suffereth us to be carried away with it. God in
deed foreseeth and knoweth how we will behave ourselves upon these
temptations, but the foresight of a thing doth not cause it.

Some urge that 1 Kings xxii. 22, ' Thou shalt be a lying spirit ; go
forth and do so, and thou shalt prevail with him.' But that is only a
parabolical scheme of providence, and implieth not a charge and com
mission so much as a permission.

Others urge those places which do directly seem to refer sin to God ;
as Gen. xlv. 5, 8, 'Be not grieved nor offended, it was not you that
sent me hither ; it was not you, but God.' The very sending, which was
a sinful act, is taken off from man and appropriated to God. So 1
Kings xii. 15, ' The king hearkened not unto the people, for the cause
was from the Lord ; ' that rebellion there is said to be from the Lord.
I answer — These things are said to be of the Lord because he would dis
pose of them to his own glory, and work out his own designs and
decrees. There are some other places urged, as where God is said to
deliver Christ, to bruise and afflict him, which was an evil act, &c. ;
but these only imply a providential assistance arid co-operation, by
which God concurreth to every action of the creatures, as shall be
cleared elsewhere.

II. I am to state the efficiency and concurrence of God about sin.
All that God doth in it may be given you in these propositions : —

1. It is certain that without God sin would never be ; without his
prohibition an action would riot be sinful. The apostle saith, ' Where
is no law, there is no transgression ; ' but I mean chiefly without his per
mission and fore-knowledge, yea, and I may add, without his will and
concurrence, without which nothing can happen and fall out ; it can
not be beside the will of God, for then he were not omniscient ; or
against his will, for then he were not omnipotent. There is no action
of ours but needeth the continued concurrence and supportation of
his providence ; and if he did not uphold us in being and working, we
could do nothing.

2. Yet God can by no means be looked upon as the direct author of
it, or the proper cause of that obliquity that is in the actions of the
creatures ; for his providence is conversant about sin without sin, as a
sunbeam lighteth upon a dunghill without being stained by it. This
is best cleared by a collection and summary of all those actions where
by, from first to last, providence is concerned in man's sin ; which are
briefly these : —

[1.] Fore-knowledge and pre-ordination. God intended and ap
pointed that it should be. Many that grant prescience deny pre
ordination, lest they should make God the author of sin ; but these
fear where no fear is. The scripture speaketh roundly, ascribing
both to God : * Him being delivered by the fore-knowledge and deter
minate counsel of God/ Acts ii. 23. Mark, Peter saith, not only
rfj Trpoyvcocrei,, ' by the fore -knowledge/ but wpia^evrj /SoiAf}, ' deter
minate counsel/ which implieth a positive decree. Now that cannot

JAS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 91

infer any guilt or evil in God, for God appointed it, as he meant to
bring good out of it. Wicked men have quite contrary ends. Thus
Joseph speaketh to his brethren, when they were afraid of his revenge,
Gen 1. 19, ' Am I in the place of God? ' that is, was it my design to
bring these things to pass, or God's decree? and who am I, that I
should resist the will of God? And then again, ver. 20, ' But as for
you, ye thought evil ; but God meant it for good, to bring it to pass,
as it is this day, to save much people alive ; ' that is, God decreed it
otherwise than you designed it : your aim was wholly evil, his good.

[2.] There is a permission of it. God's decrees imply that sin shall
be, but they do not impel or enforce ; for he leaveth us to the liberty
of our own hearts, and our own free choice and work ; he is resolved
not to hinder us : Acts xiv. 16, ' He suffered them to walk in their own
ways.' God was not bound to hinder it, therefore permission in God can
not be faulty; ' Who hath given him first ? ' Were grace a debt, it were
injustice to withhold it ; and did God act out of a servile necessity,
the creatures might reject the blame of their miscarriages upon the
faintriess of his operation : but God being free, neither obliged by
necessity of nature, nor any external rule and law, nor by any fore
going merit of the creatures, may do with his own as it pleaseth him ;
and it is a shameless impudence in man to blame God because he is
free, when himself cannot endure to be bound.1

[3.] There is a concurrence to the action, though not to the sinful-
ness of it. It is said, Acts xvii. 28, ' In him we live, move, and have
our being.' When God made the creatures, he did not make them
independent and absolute : we had not only being from him, but still
we have it in him ; we are in him, we live in him, and we move in
him, KivovpeOa — we are moved or acted in him. All created images
and appearances are but like the impress of a seal upon the waters :
take away the seal, and the form vanisheth ; subtract the influence of
providence, and presently all creatures return to their first nothing ;
therefore to every action there needeth the support and concurrence
of God : so that the bare action or motion is good, and from God ;
but the de-ordination, and obliquity of it, is from man ; it cometh
from an evil will, and therein is discerned the free work of the crea
tures.

[4.] There is a desertion of a sinner, and leaving of him to himself.
God may suspend, yea, and withdraw, grace out of mere sovereignty ;
that is, because he will : but he never doth it but either out of justice
or wisdom ; out of wisdom, for the trial of his children, as, in the busi
ness of the ambassadors, ' God left Hezekiah, that he might know
what was in his heart/ 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. So sometimes in justice,
to punish the wicked ; as Ps. Ixxxi. 12, ' I gave them up to their own
hearts' lusts, and they walked in their own counsels.' When grace is
withdrawn, which should moderate and govern the affections, man is
left to the sway and impetuous violence of his own lusts. Now God

14 Homo Deum non nisi ex sensu suo metitur, nee de auctoritate ejus cogitat, quin
earn circumcidat, nee de libertate quin ei fibulam impositam velit ; Pelagiani omnes
nascimur, immo cum supercilio pharisaico. HJc character vix delebilis est^: ^Homo sibi
obnoxium Deum existimat, non se Deo,' &c. — Spanhem. de Gratia Universali, in Prcef. ad
Lect.

92 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 13.

cannot be blamed in all this, partly because he is not bound to give or
continue grace: partly because, when common light and restraints
are violated, he seemeth to be bound rather to withdraw what is
already given ; and when men put finger in the eye of nature, God
may put it out, that they that will not, may not jsee ; and if the hedge
be continually broken, it is but justice to pluck it up ; and then if the
vineyard be eaten down, who can be blamed ? Isa. v. 5 : partly be
cause the subsequent disorders do arise from man's own counsel and
free choice ; therefore upon this tradition of God's it is said, ' They
walked in their own counsels ; ' that is, according to the free motion
arid inclination of their own spirits.

[5.] There is a concession and giving leave to wicked instruments, to
stir them up to evil ; as carnal company, evil acquaintance, false pro
phets : 1 Kings xxii. 22, ' I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the
mouth of Ahab's prophets ; and God said, Go forth.' In that scheme
and draught of providence, the evil spirit is brought in, asking leave
for wicked instruments. So Job xii. 16, it is said, 4 The deceiver and
deceived are his ; ' he is sovereign Lord over all the instruments of
deceit, so that they are restrained within bounds and limits, that they
can do nothing further than he will give leave.

[6.] There is a presenting of occasions, and disposing of them to such
providences as become a snare ; but this can reflect no dishonour
upon God, because the providences and objects are good in them
selves, and in their own nature motives to duty, rather than tempta
tions to sin. Wicked men abuse the best things — the word irritateth
their corruption ; sin getteth strength by the commandment : Isa. vi.
9, * Go, make the heart of this people fat/ that is, dull and heavy ; as
the ass, which of all creatures hath the fattest heart, is the dullest.1
The prophet is bidden to make their hearts fat ; the preaching of the
word, which should instruct and quicken, maketh them the more
gross and heavy. So also they abuse mercies and miseries : Ps. Ixix.
22, ' Let their table become a snare, and their welfare a trap/ A
sinner, like a spider, sucketh poison out of everything ; or, like the
sea, turneth the sweet influences of the heavens, the fresh supply of
the rivers, into salt water ; so their table, their welfare, all becomes a
curse and a snare to them. In this sense it is said, Jer. vi. 21, ' I
will lay stumbling-blocks before this people ; ' that is, such occasions
and providences as are a means to ruin them : in all which God most
righteously promoteth the glory of his justice.

[7.] A judicial tradition and delivering them up to the power of
Satan and their own vile affections ; as Kom. i. 26. ' God gave them
up to vile affections ; ' this is, when God suffereth those /colvas eVi/o/a?,
those common notices to be quenched, and all manner of restraints to
be removed : the truth is, we rather give up ourselves ; only, because
God serveth his ends of it, it is said, he giveth.

[8.] A limitation of sin. As God appointeth the measures of grace
according to his own good pleasure, so also the stint of sin ; it runneth
out so far as may be for his glory : Ps. Ixxvi. 10, ' The wrath of man
shall praise thee, the remainder thereof shalt thou restrain/ So far
as it may make for God's glory, God letteth the fierceness of man to

1 Plutarch.

JAS. 1. 14.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 93

have its scope; but when it is come to the stint and bounds that pro
vidence hath set to it, it is quenched in an instant.

[9.] There is a disposal and turning of it to the uses of his glory :
Bom. iii. 7, ' Our unrighteousness commendeth his righteousness, and
the truth of God aboundeth to his glory through our lie.' God is so
good, that he would not suffer evil if he could not bring good out of
it. In regard of the issue and event of it, sin may be termed (as
Gregory said of Adam's fall) felix culpa, a happy fall, because it
maketh way for the glory of God. It is good to note how many attri
butes are advanced by sin — mercy in pardoning, justice in punishing,
wisdom in ordering, power in overruling it ; every way doth our good
God serve himself of the evils of men. The picture of providence
would not be half so fair were it not for these black lines and darker
shadows. Well, then, let me never blame that God for permitting sin,
who is willing to discover so much mercy in the remitting of it.

Ver. 14. But every man is tempted ivhen he is drawn away of his
own lust, and enticed.

Here he cometh to show the true and proper cause of sin. having
removed the false pretended caujso, namely, God's providence and de
cree. The true procreating cause of sin is in every man's soul ; it is
his lust ; he carrieth. that which is fons et fames, the food and fuel
of it in his own bosom. Now this lust worketh two ways, by force
and fraud, drawing away and enticing, as in the explication will more
fully appear.

But every man is tempted. — He speaketh so universally, because
none is free but Christ.

When ~by his own lust. — He saith his own, because though we have
all a corrupt nature in common, yet every one hath a particular several
inclination to this or that sin rooted in his nature. Or rather own, to
exclude foreign force, and all violence from without : there is not a
greater enemy than our own nature.

His own lust. — That I may show you what is meant by lust, I must
premise something : — (1.) The soul of man is chiefly and mainly made
up of desires ; like a sponge, it is always thirsting, and sucking of
something to fill itself. All its actings, even the first actings of the
understanding, come out of some will and some desire ; as the apostle
speaketh of ' the wills of the mind,' Eph. ii. 3, a place I shall touch upon
again by and by. (2.) At least this will be granted, that the bent of
the soul, the most vigorous, commanding, swaying faculty of the soul,
is desire ; that SVVCLIJLLS eTriOvfjurfTiKr] is, I say, the most vigorous bent of
the soul. (3.) Since the fall, man rather consulteth with his desires
than with anything else, and there all action and pursuit beginneth. So
that this faculty is eminently corrupted, and corrupteth and swayeth all
the rest; and therefore gross lusts, the lower and baser desires, are called,
* the law of the members,' Kom. vii. 23 ; desires or lusts giving law
to the whole soul. Upon these reasons I suppose it is that all sin is
expressed by lust, which, if taken in a proper and restrained sense,
would not reach the obliquities of the whole nature of man, but only
of one faculty ; but because there seemeth to be in the creature a
secret will and desire, by which every act is drawn out, and desire is
the most vigorous faculty, bending and engaging the soul to action,

94 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 14.

the Spirit of God chooseth to express sin by lust, and such words as
are most proper to the desires of the creatures. It is true, that in the
Old Testament I find it expressed by a word proper to the under
standing, by ' inventions/ or ' imaginations/ or ' counsels/ whence
those phrases, ' walking according to their own imaginations/ and
' walking in their own counsels/ But the New Testament delighteth
rather in the other expressions of ' concupiscence ' and ' lust/ words
proper to the desires ; the reason of which difference I conceive to be,
partly the manner of the Hebrews, who frequently use words of the
understanding to note suitable affections ; partly the state of the world,
who at first were brutish in their conceits, and prone to idols, and
therefore the Old Testament runneth in that strain, ' imaginations/
* counsels/ &c. ; and at length were brutish in their desires, and more
prone to gross sins ; and therefore in the New, it is ' lusts/ ' concupis
cence/ &c. However, this 1 observe, that in the Old Testament there
is some word belonging to the will and desires adjoined to those
words of the understanding, as the ' imaginations of their own hearts/
' the counsels of their own hearts / that is, such imaginations as were
stirred up and provoked by their own hearts and desires. All this is
premised to show you why the scripture chooseth to express sin by
lust and concupiscence.

Now, lust may be considered two ways : — (1.) As a power ; (2.) As
an act.

1. As a power, and so it noteth that habitual, primitive, and radical
indisposition to good, and a disposition to evil, that is in all the facul
ties — the whole dunghill of corruption, which reeketh sometimes in the
understanding by evil thoughts, sometimes in the will by lusts and
corrupt desires, and is the mother out of whose womb all sin cometh ;
and as it is called lust or concupiscence, so it is called flesli, the oppo
site contrary principle to spirit : Gal. v. 17, ' The flesh lusteth against
the spirit •/ there it is called flesh, and its radical act lusting.

2. Look upon it as an act, and actual lust or concupiscence, and it
is nothing else but the risings and first motions of this fleshly nature
that is in us. These lustings are of two sorts — those of the lower and
those of the upper soul. The apostle calleth them, Eph. ii. 3, ' the
wills of the flesh, and of the mind/

_ [1.] The wills of the flesh are those lower and more brutish appe
tites which are the rise of lust, wantonness, drunkenness, gluttony,
called by way of emphasis, l the lusts of the flesh:' 1 John ii. 16,
' Whatever is in the world is the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes,
and the pride of life.' By the lusts of the flesh are meant the neigh-
ings of the soul after outward pleasures, and all manner of sensual and
carnal delights. Now these, when they are improved into gross and
irregular actions, stink in the nostrils of nature. In Aristotle1 they
are called eiriOv^iai 6r)pia>$eis, brutish and belluine, not only because we
have them in common with the beasts, but because they degenerate
into a brutish excess. Thus you see what lusts of the flesh are. I
confess they are sometimes taken more largely for any risings of
corrupt nature, it being most natural to us to be enslaved by sensual
and fleshly objects ; the part is put for the whole.

1 Arist. Ethic., lib. vii. cap. 6.

JAS. I. 14.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 95

[2.] The wills of the mind are the first risings of the corruption
that is in the upper soul, as fleshly reasonings, thoughts, and desires,
covetousness, ambition, pride, envy, malice, &c. These are rooted in
the corrupt risings or stirrings of the mind, will, &c. These things I
thought good to hint, to show you what the scripture intendeth by
lust, the vicious inclinations of our own spirits, chiefly those impetus
primo primi, the first risings of original sin.

He is drawn away and enticed. — There is some variety among inter
preters in opening these two words. Some conceive that in these two
words the apostle givetli out two causes of sin, one internal, which is
lust, as if that were hinted in the former word : ' drawn away by his
lust ;' and the other external, to wit, the pleasure that adhereth to the
object, which is as the bait to entice the soul, for the word signifieth
enticed as with a bait ; and (as Plato saith) rjftovrj 8e\€ap KCLKWV,
pleasure is the bait of sin. Thus Piscator and our translators seem
to favour it, in putting the words thus : ' When he is drawn by his
own lust, and enticed ;' as if they would intimate to us this sense,
drawn away by his own lust, and enticed by the object ; whereas, the
posture of th<3 words in the original referreth both to lust ; thus,
' When he is drawn away and enticed by his lust.' Others make
these words to hint several degrees in the admission of sin. Thus,
first drawn away from God, then enticed by sin ; then, in the next
verse, ' sin conceiveth,' then ' bringeth forth,' &c. Others, as Pareus,
Grotius, &c., make these to be the two parts of sin, and by drawing
away, say they, is meant the departure from the true good, and by
enticed, the cleaving to evil. For look, as in grace there is something
privative and something positive, a departure from evil and a cleaving
to good so, on the contrary, there is in sin a withdrawing from that
which is good, and an ensnaring by that which is evil. I cannot
altogether disallow this sense, though I rather incline to think that
neither the object nor the parts of evil are here hinted, but only the
several ways which lust taketh to undo us ; partly by force, and so
that word cometh in, e^eTuro/Aei'o?, he is ' drawn aside,' or haled with
the rage and impetuous violence of his desires ; partly by blandishment
and allurements ; and so the other word is used, SeXea^oyLtez/o?, ' he
is enticed,' and beguiled with the promise and appearance of pleasure
and satisfaction to the soul.

From this verse observe : —

Obs. 1. That the cause of evil is in a man's self, in his own lusts,
77 18 la eTTLOvpia, the Eve in our own bosoms. Corrupt nature is not
capable of an excuse. Sin knoweth no mother but your own hearts.
Every man's heart may say to him, as the heart of Apollodorus in the
kettle, 1eyo> aol TOVTCW air la — it is I have been the cause of this.
Other things may concur, but the root of all is in yourselves. A man
is never truly humbled till he ' smite upon his own thigh,' and doth
express most indignation against himself. Do not say it was God.
He gave a pure soul, only it met with viciously disposed matter.
It is not the light, but the putrid matter that made the torch stink,
though, it is true, it did not stink till it was lighted. You cannot

1 Plut. de Sera Num. Vindict.

% AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 14.

altogether blame the devil : ' Suggestion can do nothing without
lust/1 I remember Nazianzen saith, TO irvp Trap TI^V, rjSe <£Xof rov
TTvevfjuaTos—the fire is in our wood, though it be the devil's flame. You
cannot blame the world ; there are allurements abroad, but it is your
fault to swallow the bait. If you would have resisted embraces, as
Tamar did Amnon's, the world could not force you. Do not cry out
of examples ; there is somewhat in thee that made thee close with the
evil before thee. Examples provoke abhor r en cy from the sin, if there
be nothing in the man to suit with it. Lot was the more righteous for
living in Sodom, and Anach arsis the more temperate for living in
Scythia ; ungodly examples are permitted to increase detestation, not
to encourage imitation. Do not cry out of occasions. David saw
Bathsheba naked ; but he saith, ' I have sinned and done this evil,'
Ps. li. 4. Do not cast all the blame upon the iniquity of the times ;
good men are best in worst times, most glorious when the generation
is most crooked, Phil. ii. 15 ; most careful of duty when the age is
most dissolute, ' redeeming the time, for the days are evil,' Eph. v.
16 ; like fire that scorcheth most in the sharpest frost, or stars that
shine brightest in the darkest nights. Do not blame the pleasantness
of the creatures. You may as well say you will rebel against the
prince because he hath bestowed power upon you, and by his bounty
you are able to make war against him. It is true, there is much in
these things ; but there is more in your hearts. It is your venomous
nature that turneth all to poison.

Obs. 2. That, above all things, a man should look to his desires.
All sin is called eTuOvpia, lust or desire. God calleth for the heart :
' My son, give me thy heart;' which is the seat of desires. The
children of God, when they plead their inriocency, urge their desires,
they fail in duty ; but their ' desires are to the remembrance of his
name/ Neh. i. 11 ; Isa. xxvi. 8. The first thing by which sin discovereth
itself is by lust or desire. All actions have their rise from some inclina
tion arid tendency of the desire towards the object. Before there is any
thought or consultation in the soul, there is 6'/oe£t9, a general tendency or
bent in the soul. Well, then, look to your lusts or desires ; the whole
man is swayed by them : men are worldly or heavenly as their de
sires are ; appetite followetli life ; the spirit hath its lustings as well
as the flesh. See how it is with you.

Obs. 3. The way that lust taketh to ensnare the soul is by force
and flattery, either * drawn away ' or 'enticed/

First, By violence, e^eX/co/uew?, drawn away, haled with it. One
way of knowing desires to be irregular is, if they are violent and over-
pleasing to the flesh. When affections are impetuous, you have just
cause to suspect them, not to satisfy them. David would not touch
the waters of Bethlehem when he longed for them, 2 Sam. xxiii. 17.
Rage of desire can never be lawful. Greediness is a note of unclean-
ness, Eph. iv. 19. When the heart boileth or panteth, it is not love,
but lust. When you find any such force upon your spirits towards
carnal objects, if you would be innocent, complain and cry out as the
ravished virgin under the law ; if she cried out she was guiltless. It

1 'Diabolidecipientiscalliditas, ethominis consentientis voluntas.' — Aug. dePeccat. Oriy.

lib. ii. cap. 37.

JAS. I. 14.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 97

is a sign that sin hath not gained your consent, but committeth a
rape upon your souls. When you cry out to God, Bom. vii. 24, ' O
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me ? ' you may discern this
force upon your souls.

1. When your desires will not endure consultation, or the consider
ation of reason, but you are carried on by a brutish rage ; as Jer. v.
8, * They were as fed horses ; every one neighed after his neighbour's
wife.' They had no more command of themselves than a fed horse.
So Jer. viii. 6, ' Every one turneth into his course, as the horse into
the battle/ The rage of the horse is stirred up by a warlike noise,
and then they confront danger, and press on upon the pikes and the
heat of the battle. So they go on with an unbridled license against
all reason and restraints, without any counsel and recollection. Your
lusts will not allow you the pause of reason and discourse.

2. When they grow more outrageous by opposition, and that little
check that you give to them is like the sprinkling of water upon
the coals, the fire burnetli the more fiercely. This is that which the
apostle calleth TraOos eiriOv^ia^, ' the passionateness of lust.' We
translate it a little too flatly, ' the lust of concupiscence,' 1 Thes. iv.
5. It noteth a raging earnestness. This violence is most discerned
in the irregular motions of the sensual appetite, which are most sen
sible because they disturb reason, vex the soul, oppress the body.
But it is also in other sins. The apostle speaketh of it elsewhere :
Kom. i. 27, ' They burned in their lust one towards another/ It is
when reason is so disturbed and oppressed, that there can be no resist
ance ; yea, grace itself is overborne.

3. When they urge and vex the soul till fulfilled, which is often ex
pressed in scripture by a languor and sickness. Now this is such
an height and excess of affection as is only due to objects that are
most excellent and spiritual ; otherwise it is a note of the power of
lust. To be sick for Christ is but a duty, Cant. ii. 5 ; so worthy an
object will warrant the highest affection. But to be sick for any out
ward and carnal object noteth the irnpetuousness and violence of sin
in the soul. Thus Amnon was sick for Tamar, 2 Sam. xiii. 2 ; that
was a sickness to death, the sickness of lust and uncleanness. Ahab
was sick of covetousness, 1 Kings xxi. 4 ; and Hainan for honour,
Esth. v. All violent affections urge the soul, and make it impatient ;
and because affections are the nails and pins that tie body and soul to
gether, leave a faintness and weakness in the body.

This violence of lust may inform us, —

1. Why wicked men are so mad upon sin, and give themselves
over to it to their own disadvantage : ' They draw iniquity with
cart ropes,' Isa. v. 18. As beasts that are under the yoke put out all
their strength to draw the load that is behind them, so these draw
on wickedness to their disadvantage, commit it though it be difficult
and inconvenient. So it is said, Jer. ix. 5, that they ' weary them
selves to commit iniquity/ What is the reason of all this ? There is
a violence in sin which they cannot withstand.

2. Why the children of God cannot do as they would — withstand a
temptation so resolutely, perform duties so acceptably. Lusts may be
strong upon them also. It is observable that James saith, ' Every man

VOL. IV. G

98 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 14.

is tempted,' taking in the godly too. A wicked man doth nothing but
sin — his works are merely evil ; but a godly man's are not purely
good : Kom. vii. 19, ' The good that I would I do not do ; but the evil
that I would not, that I do/ Though they do not resolve and harden
their faces in a way of sin, yet they may be discouraged in a way of
grace. So Gal. v. 17, 'Ye cannot do the things that ye would.' Their
resolutions are broken by this violence and potent opposition.

Secondly, Observe, the next way of lust is by flattery, SeXeafoyaez'o?,
enticed. It cometh lapped up in the bait of pleasure, and that mightily
prevaileth with men : Titus iii. 3, ' Serving divers lusts and pleasures/
That is one of the impediments of conversion — lust promiseth delight
and pleasure ; so Job xx. 12, ' Wickedness is sweet in his mouth, and he
hicleth it under his tongue,' It is an allusion to children, that hide a
sweet morsel under their tongue, lest they should let it go too soon.
Neither is this only meant of sensual wickedness, such as is conversant
about meats, drinks, and carnal comforts ; but spiritual, as envy,
malice, griping plots to undo and oppress others : Prov. ii. 14, c They
rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked/ Ee-
venge is sweet, oppression is sweet, to a carnal heart ; so Prov. x. 23,
' It is a sport to a fool to do mischief/ They are enticed with a kind
of pleasure of that which is mischievous to another. Well, then : —

1. Learn to suspect things that are too delightful. Carnal objects
tickle much, and beget an evil delight, and so fasten upon the soul.
It is time to ' put a knife to the throat ' when you begin to be tickled
with the sweets of the world. Your foot is in the snare when the
world cometh in upon you with too much delight. That which you
should look after in the creatures is their usefulness, not their plea
santness — that is the bait of lust. The philosopher could say, that
natural desires are properly Trpb? TO. dvayfcala, to what is necessary.1
Solomon saitli, Prov. xxiii. 31, ' Look not upon the wine when it
is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself
right/ You need not create allurements to your fancy, and by the
eye invite the taste. There are stories of heathens that would not
look upon excellent beauties lest they should be ensnared. Pleasures
are but enticements, baits that have hooks under them. The harlot's
lips drop honey in the greeting, and wormwood in the parting, Prov.
vii. ; like John's book, honey in the mouth, and wormwood in the
bowels. God hath made man of such a nature that all carnal delights
leave impressions of sorrow at their departure.

2. Learn what need there is of great care. Pleasure is one of the
baits of lust. The truth is, all sins are rooted in love of pleasure.
Therefore be watchful. Noonday devils are most dangerous, and
such things do us most mischief as betray us with smiles and
kisses. Heathens were out that advised to pleasures, that by experience
we might be weaned from them; as Tully2 saith of youth, voluptates
experiendo contemnat—ky use of pleasures let us learn to disdain them,
as the desires are deadened and flattened to an accustomed object. But,
alas ! this is the bait of lust rather than the cure. Poor souls ! they
did not know a more excellent way. It is true, some curiosity is

1 Arist. Eth., lib. vii. cap vi.

2 M. T. Cicero in Orat. pro Rege Deiot,

JAS. 1. 15.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 99

satisfied by experience : but, however, the spirit groweth more sot
tish and sensual. Wicked men, when once they are taken in that
snare, are in a most sad condition, and think that they can never have
enough of sensual pleasures ; all delight seemeth to them too short ;
as one wished for a crane's neck, that he might have the longer relish
of meats and drinks. And Tacitus speaketh of another glutton that,
though he could satisfy his stomach, yet not his fancy or lust ; quod
edere non potuit, oculo devoravit— his womb was sooner filled than his
eye.

Ver. 15. Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Then, when lust, eira Se. — After this he goeth on in describing the
progress of sin : after that lust had by violence withdrawn, and by
delight ensnared, the soul, then sin is conceived ; and after conception,
there is a bringing forth ; and after the birth, death.

Hath conceived; that is, as soon as sin beginneth to form motions
and impulses into desires, and to ripen things into a consent ; for sin,
or corrupt nature, having inclined the soul unto a carnal object by
carnal apprehensions, laboureth to fix the soul in an evil desire. Now
the titillation or delight which ariseth from such carnal thoughts and
apprehensions is called the conception of sin.

It bringeth forth ; that is, perfecteth sin, and bringeth it to effect
within us, by a full consent and decree in the will ; and without us,
by an actual execution. The one is the forming and cherishing in the
womb after conception ; the other, as the birth and production.

Sin ; that is, actual sin ; for the Papists go beside the scope when
they infer hence that lust without consent is not truly sin. Our
Saviour saith plainly, that the first titillations are sinful : Mat. v. 28,
' Whoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart/ Though there be but such
an imperfect consent as is occasioned by a glancing thought, it is
adultery. But you will say, How is this place to be reconciled with
that of Paul, Kom. vii. 8, where he saith, ' Sin wrought in him all
manner of lust ; ' and here it is said, ' Lust bringeth forth sin/ I
answer — By sin Paul understandeth that which James calleth here lust,
that is, evil nature, or the wicked bent of the spirit ; and by lust, the
actual excitation of evil nature : but by sin James understandeth the
actual formation and accomplishment of those imperfect desires that
are in the soul.

And sin, when it is finished ; that is, actually accomplished, and by
frequent acts strengthened, and settled into a habit. But why doth
the apostle say, ' When it is finished ' ? Are all the rest venial — all
corrupt motions till sin be drawn either to a full consent, or an actual
accomplishment, or a perfect habit. I answer — (1.) The apostle doth
not distinguish between sin and sin, but speaketh of the entire course
and method of the same sin, of the whole flux and order, and so rather
showeth what death and hell followeth, than how it is deserved. Every
sin is mortal in its own nature, and bindeth over the sinner to^death
and punishment ; but usually men consummate and perfect sin ere
it lighteth upon them. (2.) Death may be applied as the common
fruit to every degree in this series, to the conception as well as the

100 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 15.

production, and to the production as well as the consummation of
it. The grandfather and great-grandfather have an interest in the
child, as well as the immediate parent ; and death is a brat that
may be laid, not only at sin's door, but lust's. (3.) It is good to
note that James speaketh here according to the appearance of things
to men. When lust bringeth forth, and the birth and conceptions of
the soul are perfected into a scandalous gross sin, men are sensible of
the danger and merit of it.

Brmgeth forth ; that is, bindeth the soul over to it ; for in this suc
cession there is a difference : lust is the mother of sin, but sin is the
merit of death; and so Cajetan glosseth well, general meritorie, it
bringeth forth, as the work yieldeth the wages.

Death. It is but a modest word for damnation ; the first and second
death are both implied : for as the apostle showeth the supreme cause
of sin, which is lust ; so the last and utmost result of it, which is death ;
not only that which is temporal, for then the series would not be
perfect, but that other death, which we are always dying, and is called
death, because life is neither desired, nor can it properly be said to be
enjoyed. Vivere nolunt, mori nesciunt — they would not live, and
cannot die.

The notes are these: —

Obs. 1. That sin encroacheth upon the spirit by degrees ; the
apostle goeth on with the pedigree of it. Lust begetteth strong and
vigorous motions, or pleasing and delightful thoughts, which draw
the mind to a full and clear consent ; and then sin is hatched, and then
disclosed, and then strengthened, and then the person is destroyed.
To open the process or successive inclination of the soul to sin, it will
not be amiss to give the whole traverse of any practical matter in the
soul. There is first o/oef t?, which is nothing but the irritation of the
object, provoking the soul to look after it; then there is OP/JLTJ, a
motion of the sensitive appetite, or lower soul, which, receiving things
by the fancy, representeth them as a sensual good ; and so a man
inclineth to them, according as they are more or less pleasant to the
senses ; and then the understanding cometh to apprehend them, and the
will inclineth, at least so far as to move the understanding to look
more after them, and to advise about some likely means to accomplish
and effect them, which is called /3ov\7jcr^, consultation ; and when the
understanding hath consulted upon the motion of the will, there
followeth POV\T), a decree of the will about it, and tlien aipeai,?, the
actual choice of the thing, and then ^ov\^^a, a perfect desire, and then
action. And so sin is represented by the fancy to the appetite ; and
then fancy, being a friend, blindeth the understanding, and then the
soul beginneth to be engaged in the pursuit of it. If this course and
method be a little too large for your thoughts, see it contracted in
this passage of our apostle. There is concupiscence, or corrupt
nature, then lust, or some inclinations of the soul to close with sin,
then delight, then full consent, and then action, and then death.
David observeth somewhat a like progress : Ps. i. 1, ' Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.' Sin is never
at a stay : first, ungodly, then sinners, then scorners ; first, counsels,

JAS. I. 15.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 101

then way, then seat ; and again, first, ioalkt then stand, then sit. You
see distinctly there three different terms for the persons, the objects,
the actions : first, men like wickedness, then they tcalk in it, then are
habituated : first, men are ivithdrawn into a way of sin, then confirmed,
then profess it. To do anything that the Lord hateth, is to ' walk in
the counsels of the ungodly ; ' to go on with delight, is to ' stand in the
way of sinners ; ' to harden our hearts against checks of conscience
and reproofs, is to commence into the highest degree, and to ' sit/ as
it is there expressed, * in the seat of scorners ; ' or, as it is in the
Septuagint, rwv Xoipwv, to affect the honour of the chair of pestilence.
Thus you see men go on from assent to delight, from delight to
obduracy.

Use 1. Oh that we were wise, then, to rise against sin betimes!
That we would ' take the little foxes,' Cant. ii. 15 ; even the first
appearances of corruption ! That we would ' dash Babylon's brats
against the stone ! ' Ps. cxxxvii. Hugo's gloss is pious, though not so
suitable to the scope of that place : sit nihil in te Bdbylonicum — the
least of Babylon must be checked; not only the grown men, but dash
the little ones against the stone. A Christian's life should be spent in
watching lust. The debates of the soul are quick, and soon ended,
and, without the mercy of God, that may be done in little more than
an instant that may undo us for ever. It is dangerous to ' give place
to Satan/ Eph. iv. 27. The devil will draw us from motions to
action, and from thence to reiteration, till our hearts be habituated
and hardened within us: Eccles. x. 13, ' The beginning of a foolish
man's speech is foolishness, but the latter end is foolish madness/
From folly they go on to downright passion. Small breaches in a
sea-bank occasion the ruin of the whole, if not timely repaired. Sin
gaineth upon us by insensible degrees, and those that are once in
Satan's snare are soon taken by him at his will and pleasure.

Use 2. It reproveth them that boldly adventure upon a sin because
of the smallness of it ; besides, the offence done to God, in standing
with him for a trifle, as the ' selling of the righteous ' is aggravated in
the prophet by the little advantage, ' for a pair of shoes/ Consider
the danger to yourselves. Great faults do not only ruin the soul, but
lesser ; dallying with temptations is of a sad consequence. Caesar was
killed with bodkins. Look, as it is murder to stifle an infant in the
womb, so it is spiritual murder to suppress and choke the conceptions
of the Spirit ; x but, on the other side, it is but a necessary rigour to
dash Babylon's brats, and to suppress sin in the conception and
growth, ere it be ripened and perfected. We are so far to abhor sin
as to beware of the remote tendencies ; yea, to avoid ' the occasions of
it/ 1 Thes. v. 22. If it be but male coloratum, as Bernard glosseth,
of an ill look and complexion, it is good to stand at a distance.

Obs. 2. Lust is fully conceived and formed in the soul, when the
will is drawn to consent ; the decree in the will is the ground of all
practice. Look, as duties come off kindly when once there is a decree
in the will : Ps. xxxii. 5, * I said I will confess my transgressions unto

1 ' Homicidii festinatio est prohibere nasci ; etiam conceptum utero dum adhuc sanguis
in hominem delibatur dissolvere non licet, nee refert natura natam quis eripiat animam an
nascentem disturbet.' — Tertul. in Apol.

102 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 15.

the Lord.' David had gotten his will to consent to acts of repentance,
and then he could no longer keep silence : so, on the other side, all
acts of sin are founded in the fixed choice and resolution of the will.
' I will pursue, I will overtake,' said mad Pharaoh, Exod. xv. 9 ; and
that engaged him in acts of violence. Now this decree of the will is
most dangerous in the general choice of our way and course ; for as
religion lieth in the settled resolution of the soul, when we make it
our work and business, as Barnabas exhorted the new converts, ' that
with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord,' Acts xi. 23, TTJ
TrpoOeo-i, TT}? KapSias, that they would resolvedly decree for God in the
will; so, when the apostle speaketh of his holy manner of life, he
calleth it irpoQeo-w, his purpose, 2 Tim. iii. 10. So also the state of
sin lieth in a worldly or carnal choice ; as the apostle saith, 1 Tim.
vi. 9, ' He that will be rich ; ' that is, that hath decreed and fixed a
resolution in his soul to make it his only study and care to grow rich
and get an estate, he is altogether carnal. A child of God may be
overborne, but usually he doth not fix his will : Eom. vii. 16, ' I do
that which I would not ; ' or, if his will be set, yet there is not a full
consent, for there will be continual dislikes from the new nature. I
confess sometimes, as there is too much of deliberation and counsel in
the sins of God's children (as you know David's sin was a continued
series and plot), so too much of resolution and the will; but this is
in acts of sin, not in the course and state ; their manner of life and
purpose is godly. Well, then, if lust hath insinuated into your
thoughts, labour to keep it from a decree, and gaining the consent of
the will. Sins are the more heinous as they are the more resolved
and voluntary.

Obs. 3. What is conceived in the heart is usually brought forth in
the life and conversation. ' Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth
forth sin/ That is the reason why the apostle Peter directeth a
Christian to spend the first care about the heart : 1 Peter ii. 11, 12,
' Abstain from fleshly lusts/ and then ' have your conversations honest/
As long as there is lust in the heart, there will be no cleanness in the
conversation ; as worms in wood will at length cause the rottenness to
appear. How soon do lusts bewray themselves ! Pride runneth into
the eyes, therefore we read of ' haughty eyes/ Prov. vi. 17, or into the
feet, causing a strutting gait or gesture. A wanton mind peepeth
out through wanton eyes and a gazing look. A garish, frothy
spirit bewrayeth itself in the vanity of apparel, and a filthy heart in
the rottenness of communication ; the eyes, the feet, the tongue, the
life do easily bewray what is seated in the heart. Momus, in the fable,
quarrelled with God for not making a window at every man's breast,
that others might see what was in it. There needeth no such dis
covery. Time showeth what births there are in the womb ; so will
the life what lusts are conceived and fostered in the heart, for lust
delighteth to bring forth. Well, then : —

1. Learn that hypocrites cannot always be hidden, disguises will
fall off. Men flatter themselves in their hidden sins, but they will be
' found hateful/ Ps. xxxvi. 2 ; that is, scandalous and inconvenient.
God hath peremptorily determined that ' their wickedness shall be
showed before the comgregation/ Prov. xxvi. 26. Some misbehaviour

JAS. I. 15.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 103

will bring it to light ; art and fiction is not durable. The apostle
saith, 1 Tim. v. 25, ' They that are otherwise cannot be hidden ; '
that is, otherwise than good.

2. Learn the danger of neglecting lusts and thoughts. If these be
not suppressed, they will ripen into sins and acts of filthiness. While
we are negligent and our care is intermitted, the business of sin
thriveth and goeth on. Allowed thoughts bring the mind and the
temptation together. David mused on Bathsheba's beauty, and so was
all on fire. It is ill dallying with thoughts.

3. Learn what a mercy it is to be hindered of our evil intentions,
that sinful conceptions are still-born, and when we wanted no lust we
should want an occasion. Mere restraints are a blessing. We are
not so evil as otherwise we would be. Lust would bring forth. God
would have Abimelech to acknowledge mercy in a restraint : Gen. xx.
6, ' I withheld thee from sinning against her/ David blessed God
that the rash executions of his rage were prevented : ' Blessed be the
God of Israel, which sent thee to meet me this day/ 1 Sam. xxv. 32.
God smote Paul from his horse, and so took him off from persecution,
when his heart boiled with rancour and malice against the saints, Acts
ix. Oh ! take notice of such instances when your way of sin hath been
hedged up by providence, Hosea ii. 6 ; and though lusts be not
checked, yet the execution is disappointed : you were mad, arid should
have gone on furiously, but that God ' fenced up your way with thorns.'

Obs. 4. That the result and last effect of sin is death ; so the apostle
Paul, Bom. vi. 21, 'The end of these things is death.' It cometh
with a pleasing and delightful sweetness, promising nothing but satis
faction and contentment, but the end is death. So Ezek. xviii. 4,
' The soul that sinneth it shall die.' It is an express law that brooketh
only the exception of free grace ; it shall die temporally, die eternally.
This is a principle impressed upon nature ; the very heathens were
sensible of it : Kom. i. 32, ' Knowing that they which commit such
things are worthy of death.' Mark, the apostle saith the heathens
knew it. Conscience, being sensible of the wrong done to the godhead,
could fear nothing less from angry justice. Draco, the rigid law
giver, being asked why, when sins were equal,1 he appointed death
to all ? answered, He knew that sins were not all equal, but he knew
the least deserved death. This was that that made the heathens at
such a loss for a satisfaction to divine justice, because they could find
none sufficient to redeem their guilty souls from the dread of death ;
and therefore the first effect of the blood of Christ upon the conscience
is ' purging from dead works/ Heb. ix. 14 ; that is, from that sentence
of death which the conscience receiveth by reason of our works. The
Papists on this point, worse than the heathen, hold some sins venial in
their own nature. It is true, it is said, 1 John v. 17, * There is a sin
not unto death ; ' but that place speaketh of the event, not the merit ;
words, evil thoughts, the least sins, deserve death. Do not think God
will be2 so extreme. If you have no better plea, that will be a sorry
refuge in the day of wrath. David a Mauden,3 a learned Papist, saith,
Those sins are only to be counted mortal — (1.) Which are said to be

1 Qu. ' Not equal ' ?— ED. 2 Qu. ' Will not be ' ?— ED.

3 David a Mauden in Prefat. Comment, in Decalog.

104 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 15.

an abomination to God, and hated by him, in scripture ; (2.) To
which a Fee, or woe, is expressly denounced ; or (3.), Are distinctly
said to be worthy of eternal death ; or (4.) To exclude and shut out
from the kingdom of itaaven ; or (5.) Such as by the law of nature
are directly repugnant to the love of God or our neighbour. But,
alas ! all this is to be wise without the word. It is true God hath
expressly declared more of his displeasure against these sins than
others, and therefore we are more ^ound and engaged to avoid them,
but they are all mortal in their merit.

Use 1. It teacheth us how to stop the violence of lust ; this will be
death and damnation. Oh ! consider it, an^l set it as a flaming sword
in the way of your carnal delights. Observ^ now w}sely God hath
ordered it, much of sin is pleasant ; ay ! but thei-e is death in the pot,
and so fear may counterbalance delight. x\noi^her part of sin is
serious, as worldliness, in which there is no gros^, act} and so there
being nothing foul to work upon shame, there is something dreadful
to work upon fear. Well, then, awaken the soul ; consider what
Wisdom saith, Prov. viii. 36, 'He that farsaketh me i^oveth death/
It is against nature for a creature to love its own death ; an natural
motions are for self-preservation. Oh ! why then should 1" ,Satisfy my
flesh to endanger my soul ? God himself puts on a pa,6Sjon) an(J
reasoneth thus with us, Ezek. xxxiii. 11, ' Why will ye die, Q house
of Israel ? ' Why will you wilfully throw away your o\vn'\ souls ?
Why will ye for a superfluous cup adventure to drink a cup oi? wrath
unmixed? For a little estate in the world make hell your poi-fton?
It is sweet for the present, but it will be death. Sin's best are S0on
spent, the worst is always behind.

Use 2. It showeth what reason we have to mortify sin lest it mor^ jfy
us ; no sins are mortal but such as are not mortified ; either sin mi-jst
die, or the sinner. The life of sin and the life of a sinner are like t\y0
buckets in a well — if the one goeth up the other must come dowi;^
When sin liveth the sinner must die. There is an evil in sin and a?n
evil after sin. The evil in sin is the violation of God's law, and th'tp
evil after sin is the just punishment of it. Now, those that are not;
sensible of the evil in sin shall be sensible of the evil after sin. To
the regenerate person, all God's dispensations are to save the person
and destroy the sin, Ps. xcix. 8 : ' Thou wast a God that forgavest
them, and tookest vengeance of their inventions/ God spared the
sinner and took vengeance on the sin; but the unmortified person
spareth his sins, and his life goeth for it ; as the apostle Paul speaketh
of himself when the power of the word came first upon him, Rom.
vii. 9, ' Sin revived and I died/ Sin was exasperated, and he felt
nothing but terror and condemnation. Oh ! then, consider it is better
sin should be condemned than you should be condemned; as the
apostle speaketh of the condemnation of sin, Rom. viii. 3, ' For sin,
he condemned sin in the flesh;' that is, Christ being made a sacrifice
for sin, sin was condemned to save the sinner. Reason thus within
yourselves : It is better sin should die than I should die : ' Thy life goes
for its life/ as it is in the prophet's parable, 1 Kings xx. 39 ; therefore
let me destroy my sin, that my soul may escape.

Use 3. Bless God that hath delivered you out of a sinful state ;

JAS. I. 16.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 105

your soul hath escaped a snare of death. Oh ! never look back upon
Sodom but with detestation ; bless God that you are escaped : ' Blessed
be the Lord that gave me counsel in my reins/ Ps. xvi. 7. I might
have been Satan's bond- slave, lust's vassal, and have earned no other
wages but my own death, but he hath called me to life and peace.
Conversion is onewhere expressed by a 'calling out of darkness into
a marvellous light/ that is much ; but in another, by a ' translating
from death to life/ that is more. It is no less a change than from
death to life. I might have wasted away my days in pleasure and
vanity, and afterwards gone to hell. ' Oh ! blessed be the name of
God for evermore, that hath delivered me from so great a death ! '

Ver. 1 6. Do not err, my beloved brethren.

The apostle having disputed the matter with them about God being
the author of sin, he dissuadeth them from this blasphemy. There is
no difficulty in this verse.

Do not err, p,^ TT\avacr6e, do not wander ; a metaphor taken from
sheep, and sometimes it noteth errors in practice, or going off from
the word as a rule of righteousness, as it is said, Isa. Ixiii. 17, ' We
have erred from thy ways ; ' sometimes errors in judgment, or going
off from the word as the standard and measure of truth, which we
most commonly express by this term * error.'

My beloved brethren. — Dealing with them about an error, he dealeth
with them very meekly, and therefore is the compilation so loving and
sweet.

This verse will afford some points.

Obs. 1. It is not good to brand things with the name of error till
we have proved them to be so. After he had disputed the matter with
them, he saith, ' Err not.' (1.) Loose slings will do no good. To
play about us with terms of heresy and error doth but prejudice men's
minds, and exulcerate them against our testimony. None but fools
will be afraid of hot words. Discoveries do far better than invectives.
Usually that is a peevish zeal that stayeth in generals. It is observ
able, Mat. xxiii., from ver. 13 to 33, our Saviour denounceth never a
woe but he presently rendereth a reason for it. ' Woe unto you, for
ye shut the kingdom of heaven;' and again, ' Woe unto you, for ye
devour widows' houses/ &c. You never knew a man gained by loose
slings. The business is to make good the charge, to discover what is
heresy and what is antichristianism, &c. (2.) This is an easy way to
blemish the holy truths of God. How often do the Papists spread that
livery upon us, heretics and schismatics. They ' speak evil of things
they do not know/ Jude 10. When men are loath to descend to the trial
of a way, they blemish it : Acts xxiv. 14, ' After the way which they
call heresy we worship the God of our fathers/ Men condemn things
suddenly and rashly, and so often truth is miscalled. If matters were
dispatched by arguments rather than censures, we should have less
differences. The most innocent truths may suffer under an odious
imputation. The spouse had her veil taken from her, and represented
to the world as a prostitute, Cant. iii. The Christians were called
Genus hominum superstitionis malificce,1 a wicked sort of men, and
Christianity a witchery and superstition.

1 Tacit. Anual., lib. xv. ; Sueton. in Nero, cap. 16.

106 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 16.

Use. Oh ! then, that in this age we would practise this : Be less
in passion and more in argument. That we would condemn things
by reasoning rather than miscalling. That we were less in generals,
and would deal more particularly. This is the way to ' stablish men
in the present truth.' In morals, the word seldom doth good but
when it is brought home to the very case. Thunder at a distance
doth not move us so much as a clap in our own zenith ; that maketh
us startle. General invectives make but superficial impressions ; show
what is an error, and then call it so. Truly that was the way in
ancient times. At first, indeed, for peace' sake, some1 have observed
that the fathers declaimed generally against errors about the power
of nature, not meddling with the persons or particular tenets of Pela-
gius and his disciples ; but afterward they saw cause for being more
particular. Loose discourses lose their profit. Blunt iron, that
toucheth many points at once, doth not enter, but make a bruise ; but
a needle, that toucheth but one point, entereth to the quick. When
we come to deal particularly with every man's work, then the fire
trieth it, 1 Cor. iii. 13. I do the rather urge this because usually
ungrounded zeal stayeth in generals, and those that know least are
most loose and invective in their discourses.

Ols. 2. We should as carefully avoid errors as vices ; a blind eye

is worse than a lame foot, yea, a blind eye will cause it ; he that hath

not light is apt to stumble : Kom. i. 26 , first they were given up, efc

' '

to a vain mind/ and then ' to vile affections/ Some
opinions seem to be remote, and to lie far enough from practice, and
yet they have an influence upon it ; they mcke the heart foolish, and
then the life will not be right. There is a link and cognation between
truth and truth, as there is between grace and grace ; and therefore
speculative errors do but make way for practical. Again, there are
some errors that seem to encourage strictness, as free-will, universal
grace, &c. ; but, truly weighed, they are the greatest discouragement ;
and therefore it hath been the just judgment of God that the broachers
of such opinions have been most loose in life, and (as the apostle
Peter maketh it the character of all erroneous persons, 2 Peter ii.)
vain and sensual. The apostle Paul presseth strictness, and our work
the more earnestly, because God must work all, Phil. ii. 12, 13.
Well, then, beware of erroneous conceits ; your spirit is embased by
them. Men think nothing is to be shunned but what is foul in act,
and so publicly odious. Consider, there is ' filthiness in the spirit' as
well as ' in the flesh/ 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; and a vain mind is as bad and as
odious to God as a vicious life. Error and idolatry will be as dan
gerous as drunkenness and whoredom ; and therefore you should as
carefully avoid them that would entice you to errors, as those that will
draw you to sin and profaneness ; for error, being the more plausible
of the two, the delusion is the more strong : natural conscience will
smite for profaneness. Many, I am persuaded, dally with opinions,
because they do not know the dangerous result of them : all false prin
ciples have a secret but pestilent influence on the life and conversation.
Obs. 3. Do not err ; that is, do not mistake in this matter, because
it is a hard thing to conceive how God concurreth to the act, and not

1 See Usser de Britann. Eccl. Primordiis, p. 221.

JAS. I, 16.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 107

to the evil of the act ; how he should be the author of all things, and
not the author of sin : therefore he saith, however it be difficult to
conceive, yet ' Do not err/ The note is, that where truths cannot be
plainly and easily made out to the apprehension, men are apt to
swerve from them. Many truths suffer much because of their intri
cacy , errors may be so near alike that it is hard to distinguish them :
the nature of man is prone to error, and therefore when the truth is hard
to find out, we content ourselves with our own prejudices. All truths
are encumbered with such a difficulty that they which have a mind
to doubt and wrangle do easily stumble at it: John vi. 60, ' This is a
hard saying ; who can hear it ? ' that is, understand it ; and then, ver.
66, ' From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no
more with him.' When there is something to justify our prejudices,
we think we are safe enough. God leaveth justly such difficulties for
a stumbling-block to them that have a mind to be offended. The
Pharisees and people that had followed Christ thought themselves
well enough, because of the darkness of those expressions, as if it did
justify their apostasy; so when there are some involucra veritatis,
some covers of difficulty, in which truth is lapped up from a common
eye, we think our assent may be excused : as Jews say, that surely
Christ was not the Messiah, because he did not come in such a way as
to satisfy all his own countrymen ; so many refuse truth because it
will require some industry and exercise to find it out. God never
meant to satisfy liominibus prcefracti myenii,1 men of a captious and
perverse wit ; and therefore truth is represented in such a manner,
that though there be plainness enough to those that have a mind to
know, yet difficulty enough to harden others to their own ruin. Men
would fain spare the pains of prayer, study, and discourse ; they are
loath to ' cry for knowledge, to dig for it as for silver/ Prov. ii. 4 ; they
love an easy, short way to truth, and therefore run away with those
mistakes which come next to hand, vainly imagining that God doth
not require belief to such things as are difficult and hard to be under
stood ; they do not look to what is sound and solid, but what is plau
sible, and at first blush reconcilable with their thoughts and appre
hensions.

Use 1. You see, then, what need you have to pray for gifts of
interpretation, and a ' door of utterance' for your ministers, and a know
ing heart for yourselves, that you may not be discouraged by the
difficulties that fence up the way of truth. Pray that God would give
us a clear spirit, a plain expression, and yourselves a right under
standing ; this will be better than to cavil at the dispensation of God,
that he should leave the world in such doubt and suspense. Chry-
sostom observeth, that the saints do not pray, Lord, make a plainer
law, but, Lord, open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of thy law ;
as David doth. It were an unjust demand for blind men, or they
that willingly shut their eyes, to desire God to make such a sun that
they might see ; it is better to desire gifts of the Spirit for the minister,
that the scriptures might be opened ; and the grace of the Spirit for
ourselves, that our understandings might be opened, that so we may
come to discern the mind of God.

1 Camero de Eccles.

108 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 16.

Use 2. It showeth how much they are to blame that darken truth,
and make the things of God the more obscure. ' They darken counsel
by words/ that by method or manner of speaking perplex the under
standing, that people can hardly reach the letter of things delivered.
Many men have a faculty to raise a cloud of dust with their own feet,
and so darken the brightness and glory of the scriptures ; certainly
such men either envy the commonness of knowledge, or serve their
own esteem, when they draw all things to a difficulty, and would seem
to swim there, where they may easily wade, yea, pass over dry-shod.

Ols. 4. Again, from that do not err. Take in the weightiness of
the matter. Ah ! would you err in this point, in a business that doth
so deeply intrench upon the honour of God ? The mistake being so
dangerous, he is the more earnest. Oh ! do not err. The note is, that
errors about the nature of God are very dangerous. There is nothing
more natural to us than to have ill thoughts of God, and nothing
more dangerous ; all practice dependeth upon it, to keep the glory of
God unstained in your apprehensions. You shall see, Kom. i. 23, 24,
' They changed the glory of God/ &c., and then ' God gave them up
to uncleanness.' Idolatry is often expressed by whoredom ; bodily
and spiritual uncleanness usually go together : ill thoughts of God
debauch the spirit, and make men lose their sense and care of piety.
Well, then, take heed of erring this error : let not the nature or glory
of God be blemished in your thoughts ; abhor whatever cometh into
your mind, or may be suggested by others, if it tend any way to
abate your esteem of God, or to eclipse the divine glory in your
apprehensions.

06s. 5. From that my beloved brethren. Gentle dealing will best
become dissuasives from error. One saith, we must speak to kings,
fyriiiaa-i, ftvcra-ivois, with silken words. Certainly we had need to
use much tenderness to persons that differ from us, speak to them in
silken words. Where the matter is like to displease, the manner should
not be bitter : pills must be sugared, that they may down the better :
many a man hath been lost through violence : you engage them to
the other party. As Tertullian, when he had spoken "favourably of
the Montanists, by the violence of the priests of Kome he was forced
into their fellowship.1 Meekness may gain those that are not engaged.
Men of another party will think all is spoken out of rage and anger
against them ; it is good to give them as little cause as may be,
especially if but inclining through weakness to an error. Oh ! ' do not
err, my beloved brethren.' I would to God we could learn this wis
dom in this age : 2 Tim. ii. 25, ' In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves, if peradventure God will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth.' Others will brook sharpness better
than they: every man that is of a contrary opinion thinketh feat
he hath the advantage ground of another, as being in the right ; and
pride is always touchy. Outward gross sins fill the soul with more
shame, and upon conviction there is not that boldness of reply ; for a
man is so far under another as he may be reproved by him : but now
here, where every man thinketh himself upon equal or higher terms,
we had need deal the more meekly, lest pride take prejudice, and, out

1 ' Prorsus in Montani partes transivit.' — Pamcl. in Vita Tertul.

JAS. I. 17.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 109

of a distaste of the manner, snuff at the matter itself : but of this
elsewhere.

Ver. 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with ivhom is no variable
ness, neither shadow of turning.

He taketh occasion from the former matter, which was to show you
that God was not the author of sin, to show you that God is the
author of all good, especially the spiritual gifts and graces bestowed
on us ; in which there is an argument secretly couched : the author
of all good cannot be the author of evil. Now ' every good and perfect
gift ' is of God ; and because the argument should be the more strong
by an allusion to the sun, he representeth God, in the latter part of
the verse, as essentially and immutably good.

Every good gift. — The vulgar readeth * the best gift,' properly
enough to the sense, but not to the original words. The gift is called
good, either — (1.) To exclude those gifts of Satan which are indeed
injuries rather than gifts: a blind mind, 2 Cor. iv. 4; unruly affec
tions, Eph. ii. 2. These gifts, that are from beneath, are not good.
(2.) To note the kind of gifts which he speaketh of ; not common mercies,
but good gifts, such as the apostle calleth elsewhere Trvev^anKa^
evhoyias, ' spiritual blessings/ Eph. i. 3. It is true all common gifts
come from the divine bounty ; but the apostle intendeth here special
blessings, as appeareth partly by the attributes ' good ' and ' perfect.'
It is true some distinguish between the two clauses, makin
ayaOrj, or ' good gift,' to imply earthly blessings, and &w/o7^t
' perfect gift,' to imply heavenly or spiritual blessings ; but I suppose
that is too curious. These two words imply the same mercies with a
different respect, as by and by ; partly because such mercies suit with
the context, look upon it forward or backward. In the foregoing
verses he speaketh about God being the author of sin, and no argu
ment is so fit to batter down that conceit as that God is the author of
special and saving grace ; arid in the following verse he instanceth
in regeneration, partly because those mercies are most clearly from
God, and need little of the concurrence of second causes.

And every perfect gift; that is, such as do anyway conduce to
our perfection, not only initial and first grace, but all the progresses in
the spiritual life, and at last perfection and eternal life itself, are the
gift of God. Though eternal death be a wages, yet eternal life is a
gift ; and therefore the apostle diversifieth the phrase when he corn-
pareth them both together, Rom. vi. 23. The sum is, that not only
the beginning, but all the gradual accesses from grace to glory, are by
gift, and from the free mercy of God.

Is from above ; that is, from heaven. The same phrase is else
where used : John iii. 21, 'He that cometh from above is above all ; '
that is, from heaven. And heaven is put for God, as Luke xv. 21,
1 1 have sinned against heaven, and against thee;' that is, against
God and his earthly father. And I suppose there is some special
reason why our blessings are said to be from above, because they were
designed there, and thither is their aim and tendency, and there are
they perfectly enjoyed ; and therefore, Eph. i. 3, are we said to be
'blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places;3 therefore 'in

110 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 17.

heavenly places/ because thence was their original, and there is their
accomplishment.

And descendeth or cometJi down; not ' falleth down/ to show (saith
Aquinas) that we have not blessings by chance, but in the way of
regular means.

From the Father of lights ; that is, from God. The word father
is often used for the author or first cause, as Gen. iv. 20, 21, ' The
father of such as dwell in tents ; ' ' the father of those that handle the
harp ; ' that is, the author and founder. So God is elsewhere called
1 Father of spirits/ Heb. xii. 9, because they do not run in the material
channel of a fleshly descent, but are immediately created by God.
Well, but what is meant by Father of lights ? Some conceive that
it intendeth no more but ' glorious Father/ as it is usual with the
Hebrews to put the genitive case for an epithet, and the genitive
plural for the superlative degree. But I conceive rather God is here
spoken of in allusion to the sun, who deriveth and streameth out his
light to all the stars ; and so God, being the author of all perfections,
which are also signified and expressed by light, is called here ' The
Father of lights/ Therefore it is usual in the scriptures to attribute
light to God and darkness to the devil ; as Luke xxii. 53, ' This is
your hour, the power of darkness ; ' that is, of Satan. More of this
term in the points.

With lohom is no variableness, 7rapa\\ayr). — It is an astronomical
word or term, taken from the heavenly bodies, which suffer many
declinations and revolutions which they call parallaxes, a word that
hath great affinity with this used by the apostle. The heavenly lights
have their vicissitudes, eclipses, and decreases ; but our sun shineth
always with a like brightness and glory.

Neither shadow of turning, r/aoTn}? airoaKiacrpa. — The allusion is
continued. Stars, according to their different light and posture, have
divers adumbrations ; as, the nearer the sun is to us, the less shadow
it casteth ; the farther off, the greater : so that we know the various
motions and turning of the sun by the difference of the shadows. But
the Father of spiritual lights is not like the father or fountain of
bodily : with him is no shadow of turning ; that is, he is without any
motion or change, any local accesses and recesses, remaineth always
the same. This is a sun that doth not set or rise, cannot be overcast
or eclipsed.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That all good things are from above ; they come to us from God.
Mere evil is not from above ; ' the same fountain doth not yield sweet
and bitter waters.' God is good, and immutably good, and therefore
it cannot be from him, which was Plato's argument. Evils do not
come from God, because he is good ; which reasoning is true, if it be
understood of evils of sin ; for otherwise, ' Shall there be evil in a city
and the Lord hath not done it?' Amos iii. 6. But for good that
floweth clearly from the upper spring, there are indeed some pipes
and conveyances, as the word, and prayer, and the seals; and for
ordinary blessings, your industry and care. But your fresh springs are
in God ; and in all these things we must, as chickens, sip and look
upwards. It is, I confess, the waywardness of flesh and blood to look

JAS. I. 17.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. Ill

to the next hand, as children thank the tailor for the new coat, and
suffer the immediate helps to intercept their trust and respects ; and
therefore God often curseth the means, and blasteth our endeavours.
The divine jealousy will not brook a rival. God delighteth in this
honour of being the sole author of all our good, and therefore cannot
endure that we should give it to another. When God was about to
work miracles by Moses' hand, he first made it leprous, Exod. iv. 6.
There he was aforehand with this sin ; first or last, the hand of the
creature is made leprous. This note, that God is the author of all the
good that is in us, is useful to prevent many corruptions ; as, (1.)
Glorying in ourselves. Who would magnify himself in that which is
from above? We count it odious for a man to set out himself in
another man's work and glory ; as the apostle saith, 2 Cor. x. 16, that
he would not 'boast in another man's line of things made ready to
his hands.' Now, all good is made ready to your hand; it is the
bounty of heaven to you. It is not your line and work, but God's.
(2.) Insultation, or vaunting it over others. Had we all from ourselves,
the highest might have the highest mind ; but ' who made you to
differ ? ' 1 Cor. iv. 7. Carnal and weak spirits feed their lusts with
their enjoyments. A straight pillar, the more you lay upon it, the
straighter it is, and the more stable; but that which is crooked
boweth under its weight : so the more God casteth in upon carnal
men, the more is their spirit perverted. (3.) Envy to those that have
received most. Our eye is evil when God's hand is good. Envy is a
rebellion against God himself, and the liberty and pleasure of his
dispensations. God distributeth gifts and blessings as he will, not as
we will ; our duty is to be contented, and to beg grace to make use of
what we have received.

Obs. 2. Whatever we have from above, we have it in the way of
a gift. We have nothing but ' what we have received/ and what we
have received we have received ' freely.' There is nothing in us that
could oblige God to bestow it ; the favours of heaven are not set to
sale. When God inviteth us to mercy, he doth not invite us as a
host, but as a king ; not to buy, but to take : they are most welcome
that have no money, Isa. Iv. 1 ; that is, no confidence in their own
merits. Some divines say, that in innocency we could not merit.
When the covenant did seem to hang upon works, we could, in their
sense, impetrare, but not mereri — obtain by virtue of doing, but not
deserve. Merit and desert are improper notions to express the rela
tion between the work of a creature and the reward of a Creator ; and
much more incongruous are they since the fall. Sin, bringing in a
contrariness of desert, maketh mercy much more a gift ; so that now
in every giving there is somewhat of. forgiving, and grace is the more
obliging because in every blessing there is not only bounty, but a
pardon. It was long since determined by the schools, that penitents
had more reason to be thankful than innocents, sin giving an advantage
to mercy to be doubly free in giving and pardoning, and so the
greater obligation is left upon us. Oh ! then, that we were sensible
of this ; that in all our actions our principle might be a sense of God's
love, and our end or motive a sight of God's glory.

Obs. 3. That among all the gifts of God, spiritual blessings are the

112 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I 17.

best : these are called here good and perfect, because these make us
good and perfect. It is very observable that it is said, Mat. vii. 11,
* If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, much
more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them
that ask him/ Now in the parallel place in Luke xi. 13, it is, gi^
' the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ;' that is the giving of good
gifts, to give the Holy Spirit. Nihil bomim sine summo bono1 — there
can be nothing good where there is not the Spirit of God : other
blessings are promiscuously dispensed; these are blessings for
favourites. The ' men of God's hand/ Ps. xvii. 14, may have abun
dance of treasure, that is, violent, bloody men ; but the ' men alter
God's heart7 have abundance of the Spirit. A man may be weary of
other gifts ; an estate may be a snare, life itself a burden ; but you
never knew any weary of spiritual blessings, to whom grace or the love
of God was a burden ; therefore, it is ' better than life,' Ps. Ixiii. 3.
Well, then, they are profane spirits that prefer pottage before a
birthright, vain delights before the good and perfect gifts. David
makes a wiser choice in his prayer, Ps. cvi. 4, ' Eemeniber me, 0
Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people ; 0 visit me
with thy salvation/ Not every mercy will content David, but the
mercy of God's own people ; not every gift, but the good and perfect
gift. The like prayer is in Ps. cxix. 132, ' Look upon me, and be
merciful unto me, as thou usest to do to those that love thy name/
Mark, not the mercies that he used to bestow upon the world, but
the mercies he used to bestow upon his people and favourites. No
thing but the best mercy will content the best hearts.

Obs. 4. That God is the Father of lights. Light being a simple
and ^ defecate quality, and, of all those which are bodily, most pure and
spiritual, is often put to decipher the essence and glory of God, and
also the essences and perfections of creatures as they are from God.
The essence of ^Gocl : 1 John i. 5, ' God is light, and there is no
darkness in him/ There light, being a creature simple and unmixed,
is put to note the simplicity of the divine essence. So also the glory

of God: ' He dwelleth in light inaccessible/ 1 Tim. vi. 16 ; that is, in
inconceivable glory. So Jesus Christ, in regard he received his
personality and subsistence from the Father, is called, in the Nicene
Creed, </>w? e/c (/HUTO?, #eo? a\r)6ivos GK Oeov a\r]6lvov, ' Light of light,
•and very God of very God/ So also the creatures, as they derive
their perfections from God, are also called lights; as the angels,
' Angels of light, 2 Cor. xi. 14; the saints, ' Children of light, ' Luke
xvi. 8. Yea, reasonable creatures, as they have wisdom and under
standing, are said to be lights ; so John i. 9, ' This is the light that
enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world ;' that is, with the
light of reason : all the candles in the world are lighted at this torch.
In short, reason, wisdom, holiness, happiness are often expressed by
light, and they are all from God. As the stars shine with a borrowed
lustre, so do all the creatures ; where you meet with any brightness
and excellency in them, remember it is but a streak and ray of the
divine glory. As the star brought the wise men to Christ, so should
all the stars in the world bring up your thoughts to God, who is

1 Aug. lib. iv. contra Jul.

JAS. I. 17.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 113

'the Fountain and Father of lights/ Thus Mat. v. 16, 'Let your
light so shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, may
glorify/ not you, but ' your Father which is in heaven.' If you see a
candle bum brightly and purely, remember it was lighted and en
kindled by God. If there be any light in them, a sight and sense of
the mysteries of the gospel, if they be 'burning and shining lights/ if
they give out the flame of a holy conversation, still remember they
do but discover that lustre and glory they received from above.
Well, then, if God be the Father of lights,—

1. It presseth you to a,pply yourselves to God. If you want the
light of grace, or knowledge, or comfort, you must shine in his beam
arid be kindled at his flame. We are dark bodies till the Lord fill us
with his own glory. Oh ! how uncomfortable should we be without
God. In the night there is nothing but terror and error ; and so it is
in the soul without the light of the divine presence. When the sun
is gone the herbs wither ; and when God, who is the sun of spirits, is
withdrawn, there is nothing but discomfort and a sad languishing in.
the soul. Oh ! pray, then, that God would shine in upon your soul,
not by flashes, but with a constant light. It is too often thus with us
in point of comfort find grace ; holy thoughts arise, and, like a flash
of lightning, make the room bright, but the lightning is gone, and we
are as dark as ever. But when God shineth in by a constant light,
then shall we give out the lustre of a holy conversation : Isa. Ix. 1,

* Arise and shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee.' We, like the moon, are dark bodies, and have no
light rooted within ourselves ; the Lord must arise upon us ere we
can shine. So also in point of comfort : Ps. xxxiv. 5, ' They looked
to him and were lightened ; their face was not confounded.'

2. It showeth the reason why wicked men hate God : John iii.
19-21, ' Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather
than light ; ' and again, ' They come not to the light, for their deeds
are evil/ Men that delight in darkness cannot endure God, nor any
thing that representeth God. Kachel could not endure Laban's
search, nor wicked men God's eye. He is the Father of lights ; he
hath a discerning eye, and a discovering beam.

3. It presseth the children of God to walk in all purity and innocency :

* Ye are children of light, walk in the light,' Eph. v. 8. Walk so
as you may resemble the glory of your Father: faults in you, like
spots in the moon, are soon discerned. You that are the lights of
the world should not shine dimly ; nay, in the worst times, like stars
in the blackest night, you should shine brightest ; therefore the apostle
saith, Phil. ii. 15, ' Shine as stars in the midst of a perverse age.'

Gbs. 5. That the Lord is unchangeable in holiness and glory ; he is
a sun that shineth always with a like brightness. God, and all that
is in God, is unchangeable ; for this is an attribute that, like a silken
string through a chain of pearl, runneth through all the rest : his
mercy is unchangeable, * his mercy endureth for ever/ Ps. c. 5. So
his strength, and therefore he is called ' The Eock of ages/ Isa. xxvi.
4. So his counsel, Mutat sententiam, sed non decretum (as Bradwar-
dine) ; he may change his sentence, the outward threatening or pro
mise, but not his inward decree; he may will a change, but not

VOL. iv. H

114 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. 1, 18.

change his will. So his love is immutable ; his heart is the same to us
in the diversity of outward conditions : we are changed in estate and
opinion, but God he is not changed ; therefore when Job saith, Job
xxx. 21, ' Thou art turned to be cruel/ he speaketh only according
to his own feeling and apprehension. Well, then, —

1. The more mutable you are, the less you are like God. Oh !
how should you loathe yourselves when you are so fickle in your pur
poses, so changeable in your resolutions ! God is immutably holy,
but you have a heart that loveth to wander. He is always the same,
but you are soon removed, Gal. i. 6 ; ' soon shaken in mind,' 2 Thes.
ii. 2 ; whirried with every blast, Eph. iv. 14, borne down with every
new emergency and temptation. The more you do ' continue in the
good that you have learned and been assured of/ 2 Tim. iii. 14, the
more do you resemble the divine perfection.

2. Go to him to establish and settle your spirits. God, that is
unchangeable in himself, can bring you into an immutable estate of
grace, against which all the gates of hell cannot prevail ; therefore be
not quiet, till you have gotten such gifts from him as are without
repentance, the fruits of eternal grace, and the pledges of eternal
glory.

3. Carry yourselves to him as unto an immutable good ; in the
greatest change of things see him always the same : when there is
little in the creature, there is as much in God as ever : Ps. cii. 26, 27,
' They shall perish, but thou shalt endure ; they shall all wax old as a
garment : thou art the same for ever, and thy years have no end/ All
creatures vanish, not only like a piece of cloth, but like a garment.
Cloth would rot of itself, or be eaten out by moths ; but a garment is
worn and wasted every day. But God doth not change ; there is no
wrinkle upon the brow of eternity ; the arm of mercy is not dried up,
nor do his bowels of love waste and spend themselves. And truly this
is the church's comfort in the saddest condition, that however the face
of the creatures be changed to them, God will be still the same. It is
said somewhere, that * the name of God is as an ointment poured out/
Certainly this name of God's immutability is as an ointment poured out,
the best cordial to refresh a fainting soul. When the Israelites were
in distress, all the letters of credence that God would give Moses were
those, Exod. iii. 14, ' I am that I am hath sent me unto you.' That
was comfort enough to the Israelites, that their God remained in the
same tenor and glory of the divine essence ; he could still say / A M.
With God is no change, no past or present ; he remaineth in the same
indivisible point of eternity ; and therefore saith, I AM. So the
prophet Malachi iii. 6, eya Kvpios, ov/c 7f\\oiwp(u, ' I am the Lord,
that change not ' (or am not changed) ; ' therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed/ Our safety lieth in God's immutability ; we cannot
perish utterly, because he cannot change.

Ver. 18. Of his own good-will begat he us, by the word of truth, tJiat
we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.

The apostle showeth that his main aim was to set forth God as the
author of spiritual gifts, and therefore instanceth in regeneration.

Of his own good-will, /3ov\7]dels. — Because he would, or being
willing. The word is put :—(!.) To deny compulsion or necessity ;

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 115

God needed not to save any; and (2.) To exclude merit; we could
not oblige him to it, it was merely the good pleasure of God ; for this
fiovXrjOels is equivalent to that which Paul calleth evbofcla, the natural
bent, purpose, and inclination of God's heart to do the creatures good :
Eph. i. 1 1, it is called ' the counsel of his will/ and elsewhere ' abundant
mercy ; ' 1 Pet. i. 3, ' Out of his abundant mercy he hath begotten us
to a lively hope ;; in other places ' the pleasure of the Father/

Begat he us. — A word that properly importeth natural generation,
and sometimes it is put for creation ; and so as we are men we are
said to be his 761/09, ' his offspring/ Acts xvii. 28 ; and indeed so some
take it here, applying these words to God's creating and forming us,
and making men to be his first-fruits, or the choicest piece in the
whole creation ; or, as Zoroaster called him, ToX/^porar?;? T??? (frvcrecos
ayaXfJia, the masterpiece of over-daring nature. But this is beside
the scope ; for he speaketh of such a begetting as is ' by the word
of truth/ which, in the next verse, he maketh to be an argument of
more conscience and sense of the duty of hearing ; therefore begetting
is put to imply the work of grace upon our souls. The same metaphor
is elsewhere used : 1 Peter i. 23 ' Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth for ever ;'
so 1 Peter i. 3, ' Begotten to a lively hope.' I have brought these two
places to show you the two parts in the work of grace ; the one is qua
regeneramur, by which we are begotten, the other qua renascimur, by
which we are born again; the one is God's act purely, the other
implieth the manifestation of life in ourselves ; a distinction that
serveth to clear some controversies in religion : but I go on with my
work.

By the word of truth. — Here is the instrument noted. Those that
refer this verse to the creation, understand it of Jesus Christ, who is
the eternal uncreated Word of the Father, and by him were all things
made ; see John i. 1, 2 ; Heb. i. 3, &c. ; but clearly it is meant of the
gospel, which is often called ' the word of truth/ and is the ordinary
means whereby God begetteth us to himself.

That we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. — Those that
apply the verse to the creation say the apostle meaneth here that man
was the choicest, chiefest part of it ; for all things were subjected
to him, and put under his feet, Ps. viii. But I conceive it noteth
rather the dignity and prerogative of the regenerate ; for as it was the
privilege of the first-fruits of all the sheaves to be consecrated, so
believers and converts among all men were set aside for the uses and
purposes of God. The first-fruits of all things were the Lord's : — (1.)
Partly to testify his right in that people ; (2.) Partly for a witness of
their thankfulness ; they having received all from him, were to give him
this acknowledgment : Prov. iii. 9, * Honour the Lord with thy sub
stance, and with the first-fruits of thy increase ;' this was the honour
and homage they were to do to God. Now this is everywhere attributed
to the people of God ; as to Israel, because they were God's peculiar
people, called out from all the nations : Jer. ii. 3, ' The first-fruits of
his increase is holiness to the Lord ; ' that is, of all people they were
dedicated to God. So the holy worshippers, figured by those virgins
in Kev. xiv. 4, are said to be ' redeemed from among men, to

116 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 18.

be a first-fruits unto God and the Lamb:' these were the chiefest,
Christ's own portion. So the church is called, Heb. xii. 23, ' the church
of the first-born.' All the world are as common men; the church
are the Lord's.

The points are these : —

Obs. 1. That which engaged God to the work of regeneration was
merely his own will and good pleasure : * Of his own will begat he us;'
Eom. ix. 18, ' He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom
he will he hardeneth.' God's will is the reason of all his actions ; you
will find the highest cause to be will, love, and mercy. God can have
no higher motive, nothing without himself, no foresight of faith and
works ; he was merely inclined by his own pleasure : John xv. 16,
1 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you ;' he begins with us
first. When Moses treateth of the cause of God's love to Israel, he
assigneth nothing but love : Dent. vii. 7, 8, ' He loved you5< because
he loved you ;' he had no motive, and can expect no satisfaction. So
Ps. xviii. 19, 'He delivered me, because he delighted in me;' that
was all the reason he did it, because he would do it. So Hosea xiv.
4, ; I will love them freely ;' there is the spring and rise of all. This
is applicable divers ways : — (1.) To stir us up to admire the mercy of
God, that nothing should incline and dispose his heart but his own
will ; the same will that begat us, passed by others : whom he will he
saveth, and whom he will he hardeneth. Man's thoughts are very
unsober in the inquiry why God should choose some arid leave others :
when you have done all, you must rest in this supreme cause, God's
will and pleasure : Mat. xi. 26, ' Even so, Father, because it pleased
thee.' Christ himself could give no other reason, and there is the
final result of all disputes. Oh ! admire God, all ye his saints, in his
mercy to you ; this circumstance giveth us the purest apprehensions
of the freeness of God's love, when you see that it was God's own will
that determined mercy to you, and made the difference between you
and others ; nay, in some respects, it puts a difference between you
and Christ : evjjuzveia Trdrpos a cnroKTeivei, aXXot? ryiyvercu crwr^p/a,1
the good-will of the Father slayeth thee, and saveth others; he
willed Christ's death, and your salvation. In the same verse, Christ's
bruises and our salvation are called chephers, God's pleasure : Isa.
liii. 10, ' It pleased the Father to bruise him ; ' and then, ' My
pleasure/ that is, in the salvation of the elect, ' shall prosper in his
hands.' (2.) It informeth us the reason why, in the work of regeneration,
God acteth with such liberty : God acteth according to his pleasure ;
the Holy One of Israel must not be limited and confined to our
thoughts : John iii. 8, ' The wind bloweth where it listeth.' All is
not done after one tenor, but according to the will of the free Spirit ;
as, in giving means, you must leave God to his will : there are mighty
works in Chorazin and Bethsaida, when there are none in Tyre and
Sidon. Israel had statutes and ordinances, when all the world had
nothing but the glimmering candle of their own reason. So for the
work of the Spirit with the means, some have only the means, others
the work of the Spirit with the means : John xiv. 22, ' How is it that

1 Nazianz. in bis Christina Pctticns.

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 117

thou wilt reveal thyself unto us, and not unto the world ? ' They
have choice revelations. The spouse is brought into the closet,
Cant. i. 3, when the virgins, common Christians, stay only in the
palace of the great King. Do but observe two places : Acts ix. 7, it
is said of Paul's companions, that ' they heard a voice/ and yet, Acts
xxii. 9, it is said, ' They that were with him heard not the voice.'
Solomon Glassius reconcileth these two places thus : They heard a
sound, but they did not hear it distinctly as Christ's voice. Some
only hear the outward sound, the voice of man, but not of the Spirit
in the word ; there is a great deal of difference in the same auditories.
So also for the measure of grace ; to some more is given, to some less ;
though all have a vital influence, yet all have not the same measure
of arbitrary influences : Phil. ii. 13, 'He giveth both to will and to
do, Kara rrjv evboKiav, according to his good pleasure.' So for the
manner ; it is very diverse and various. God beginneth with some in
love, with others by terrors, 'plucking them out of the fire.' Some
are gained by a cross and affliction, others by a mercy. Some are
caught by a holy guile (as the apostle saith of the Corinthians) ;
others are brought in more sensibly, and with greater consternation.
Upon some the Spirit cometh like a gentle blast, grace insinuateth
itself ; upon others like a mighty rushing wind, with greater terror
and enforcement. So for the time ; some are longer in the birth, and
wait at the pool for many years ; others are surprised and gained of
a sudden : Cant. vi. 12, ' Ere I was aware, my soul made me like the
chariots of Amminadib.' Therefore we should not limit God to any
one instance, but still wait upon him in the use of means, for his good
pleasure to our souls.

Obs. 2. That the calling of a soul to God is, as it were, a new beget
ting and regeneration. He ' begat us ; ' there must be a new framing
and making, for all is out of order, and there is no active influence and
concurrence of our will ; therefore grace is called, 2 Cor. v. 17, Kaivrj
/crtcrt?, ' a new creation ; ' all was a chaos and vast emptiness before.
So elsewhere it is expressed by being ' born again,' John iii. 5 ; and
so believers are called Christ's seed,' Isa. liii. 10. The point being
obvious, I shall the less stay on it. It is useful — (1.) To show us the
horrible defilement and depravation of our nature ; mending and
repairing would not serve the turn, but God must new make and new
create us, and beget us again : like the house infected with leprosy,
scraping will not serve the turn ; it must be pulled down, and built
up again. They mince the matter that say of nature as those of the
damsel, ' She is not dead, but sleepeth ; ' as if it were a languor or a
swoon into which Adam and his posterity fell. No ; it was a death,
and therefore are those two notions of creation and resurrection
solemnly consecrated by the Spirit of God to express our regeneration
or new birth. (2.) To show us that we are merely passive in our con
version : it is a begetting, and we (as the infant in the womb) contri
bute nothing to our own forming : Ps. c. 4, ' It is he that hath made
us, and not we ourselves ; ' we had no hand in it. (3.) It showeth us
two properties oi conversion : (1st.) There will be life ; the effect of
generation is life Natural men are said, Eph. iv. 18, to be ' alienated
from the life of God ; ' they are altogether strangers to the motions and

118 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 18.

operations of the Spirit. But now, when the soul is begotten, there
will be acting, and moving, and spiritual feeling ; the soul will not be
so dead towards God. Paul saith, G-al. ii. 20, ' Not I live, but Christ
liveth in me.' A man cannot have interest in Christ, but he will
receive life from him. (2d.) There will be a change. At the first God
bringeth in the holy frame, all the seeds of grace ; and therefore there
will be a change : of profane, carnal, careless hearts, they are made
spiritual, heavenly, holy : Eph. v. 8, ' Ye were darkness, but now are
light in the Lord.' You see there is a vast difference. If men
remain the same, how can they be said to be begotten ? They are
filthy still, carnal still, worldly still ; there will be at least a desolation
of the old forms and frames of spirit.

Obs. 3. It is the proper work of God to beget us : 'he begat.' It
is sometimes ascribed to God the Father, as here, and so, in other
places, to God the Son : believers are ' his seed/ Isa. liii. 10. Some
times to the Spirit, John iii. 6. God the Father's will : ' Of his own
will begat he us. God the Son's merit : through his obedience we
have ' the adoption of sons,' Gal. iv. 5. God the Spirit's efficacy : by
his overshadowing the soul is the new creature hatched and brought
forth. It is ascribed to all the three persons together in one place :
Titus iii. 5, 6, ' By his mercy he hath saved us, through the renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ.' In another place you have two persons mentioned : Eph. ii.
10, ' For we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ unto good
works.' It is true, the ministers of the gospel are said to beget, but
it is as they are instruments in God's hands. So Paul saith, ' I
begat you/ 1 Cor. iv. 15 ; and of Onesimus he saith, ' Whom I begat
in my bonds/ Philem. 10. God loveth to put his own honour many
times upon the instruments.

Well, then — 1. Eemove false causes. You cannot beget yourselves,
that were monstrous ; you must look up above self, and above means,
to God, who must form you after his own image. It is said, John i.
13, that we are ' begotten, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor the will of man, but of God/ Not in the outward impure way
that ^is meant by that ' not of blood ; nor by the will of the flesh/
that is, in the carnal manner, as man begetteth man to satisfy a fleshly
will or desire ; ' nor of the will of man/ that is, any workings or
desires of our will ; but only by the power of the Spirit ; for the intent
of ^ that place is to remove gross thoughts and wrong causes, that we
might apprehend it right for the nature of it, and look up to the right
cause of it.

2. It showeth what an honourable relation we are invested with by
the new birth. He begat us. God is our Father ; that engageth
his love, and bowels, and care, and everything that can be dear and
refreshing to the creature: Mat. vi. 32, 'Your heavenly Father
knoweth that you have need of these things.' This relation is often
urged by the children of God : Isa, Ixiii. 16, .< Doubtless thou art our
Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us/ There is comfort in a
father, much more in a heavenly Father. Evil men may be good
fathers, Mat. vii. 11 ; they cannot but obey those natural and
fatherly impressions that are upon their bowels ; how much more will

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 119

a good God be a good Father ? Tarn pater nemo, tampius nemo * —
none can be so good and so much a father as he.

Obs. 4. The ordinary means whereby God begetteth us is the gospel.
He begat us ' by the word of truth : ' 1 Cor. iv. 15, ' I have be
gotten you in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.' There is the instru
ment, the author, the means: the instrument, Paul, ' I have begotten
you ; ' the means, ' by the gospel ; ' the author, ' in Jesus Christ/
So 1 Peter i. 23, ' Begotten by the incorruptible seed of the word.'
The word is, as it were, the seed, which, being ingrafted in the heart,
springeth up in obedience : it is by the word, and that part of the
word which is properly called the gospel. Moses may bring us to the
borders, but Joshua leadeth us into the land of Canaan ; the law may
prepare and make way, but that which conveyeth the grace of con
version is properly the gospel. Well, then, let us wait upon God in
the use of the word : it is not good to balk the known and ordinary
ways of grace. Wisdom's dole is given at wisdom's gates : Prov.
viii. 34, * Blessed is he that watcheth always at my gates.' It was a
great advantage to the decrepit man to lie still at the pool, John v.
God's means will prove successful in God's time. Urge your souls
with the necessity of the means. ' Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God/ Rom. x. 17. Without grace I cannot
be saved, without the word I cannot have grace ; reason thus within
yourselves, that you may awaken the soul to a greater conscience and
sense of waiting upon God in the word. It is true, the divine grace
doth all, he begetteth us ; but remember, it is by the word of truth.
The influences of the heavens make fruitful seasons, but yet plough
ing is necessary. It is one of the sophisms of this age to urge the
Spirit's efficacy as a plea for the neglect of the means.

Obs. 5. The gospel is a word of truth ; so it is called, not only in
this, but in divers other places. See 2 Cor. vi. 7 ; Eph. i. 12 ; Cpl.
i. 5 ; 2 Tim. ii. 15 ; the same expression is used in all these places.
You may constantly observe, that in matters evangelical the scriptures
speak with the greatest averment and certainty ; the comfort of them is
so rich, and the way of them is so wonderful, that there we are apt to
doubt most, and therefore there do the scriptures give us the more
solemn assurance ; as 1 Tim. i. 15, ' This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners/ We
are apt to look upon it as a doubtful thing, or at best but as a
probable truth ; therefore Paul prefaceth, ' This is a faithful saying/
So Isa. liii. 4, ' Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sor
rows.' Thou sayest, surely I am a sinner; but it is as sure that
Christ is a Saviour ; naturally we are more sensible and sure of sin
than of the comforts of Christ. The apostle speaketh of heathens,
Eom. i. 32, that they ' knew the judgment of God/ and that * they
that commit such things are worthy of death/ Natural conscience
will give us a sight and sense of sin, but usually we look upon gospel
comforts with a loose heart and doubtful mind ; and therefore is it
that the scripture useth such forms of certainty. Is it sure that thou
art a sinner ? so sure is it that he hath ' borne our sins and carried
our sorrows/ So Eev. xix. 9, ' Blessed are they which are called to

1 Tertul. in lib. de Orat. Dora.

120 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 18.

the supper of the Lamb : these are the true sayings of God/ ^ So
Kev. xxii. 6, when he had spoken of the glory of heaven, he saith,
4 These sayings are faithful and true/ The Spirit of God foresaw
where we are most apt to doubt, and therefore hath laid in such
solemn security (as the asseverations of God) aforehand. Thus
Christ's priesthood is ushered in with an oath, Ps. ex. 4, ' The Lord
hath sworn, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec/
Points so far above the reach and apprehension of nature are hard to
be believed, therefore are they prefaced with deep asseverations and
oaths.

Use. The use is to press us to put our seal to these truths, to
adventure our souls upon the warrant of them. How strange is it
that our hearts should be most loose towards those points that have a
special note of truth and faithfulness annexed to them ! Well may
it be said, 1 John v. 10, ' He that believeth not maketh God a liar ;'
for these things are propounded to you, not only in assertions, but
asseverations. He hath told you they are faithful and true sayings ;
therefore you implicitly give God the lie when you think these things
are too good to be true, or carry yourselves with a carelessness and loose
uncertainty towards them, or, in despair, think there cannot be com
fort for such sinners as you are. This is to lift up your own sense
and experience against the oaths and protestations of God, which are
everywhere interlaced with the proposals of the gospel. Oh ! do not
hang off. Bring up assent to the greatest certainty that may be ;
check those vile thoughts which secretly lurk in all our hearts, that
the gospel is some fine device and rare artifice to cheat the world,
some golden fancy to make fools fond with ; as that profane pope
said, Fabula Gliristi, the fable of the gospel. Oh ! consider, all the
wit of the creatures could not contrive or design such a plot and
frame of truths, so satisfying to the conscience, as the gospel is, and
therefore all assents that do not amount and come up to assurance are
beneath the dignity of it.

Assents are of divers kinds ; some are very imperfect. There is
conjecture, which is but a lighter inclination and propension of the
mind to that which is only probable ; it may or may not be true. This
is discerned by carelessness and disrespect towards things that are
excellent ; men do but guess, and have but loose thoughts of them.
Higher than this there is opinion, when the mind is strongly swayed
to think a thing true, however there isformido oppositi, a fear of the
contrary, which is opposed to believing with all the heart, Acts viii.
This is enough to engage to profession — a man followeth his opinion.
The next degree above this is 6\t,yo7ncrTLa , ' weak faith,' which
engageth the soul not only to profession, but to some affection and
adherence to the truths acknowledged ; they look upon them as true
and good, but cleave to them with much brokenness and imperfection.
Higher than this there is assurance ; I mean, of the truths of the
gospel, not of our interest in the comforts of it. This is intended by
the apostle when he said the Thessalonians ' received the word with
much assurance/ 1 Thes. i. 5 ; they were undoubtedly, and beyond
contradiction, persuaded of the truths of the gospel. The same
apostle, Col. ii. 2, calleth it, ' The riches of the full assurance of under-

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 121

standing the mysteries of Christ ; ' that is, such an apprehension of
the truths of the gospel as is joined with some experience, and a
resolution to live and die in the profession of it.

Quest. You will say, How shall we do to ripen our assents to such
a perfection? What are those proper mediums or arguments by
which (next to the infallible persuasion of the Spirit) the soul is
assured that the gospel is a word of truth ?

Ans. This question is worth answering at all times, because atheism
is so natural to us, — if there were none in the world, yet there is too
much of the atheist in our own bosoms, — but in these times espe
cially, the reigning sin being atheism and scepticism in matters of
religion, occasioned partly by corrupt and blasphemous doctrines,
which have a marvellous compliance with our thoughts ; partly by
the sad divisions among the people of God. Every one pretending to
be in the right, we suspect all ; therefore Christ prayed for unity in
the church upon this argument, ' That the world may know that thou
hast sent me/ Johnxvii. 23. When there are divisions in the church,
usually there is atheism in the world: partly by the scandals and
villanies committed under a pretence of religion, by which Christ is,
as it were, denied, Titus i. 16, and again, 'crucified and put to an
open shame/ Heb. vi. 6 ; that is, exposed to the derision and scorn of
his enemies, and represented as a malefactor. Now if ever then, is
it needful to ballast the mind with solid and rational grounds, and to
establish you in the holy faith. Many arguments are urged by the
fathers and the schoolmen in behalf of the gospel ; but I have always
preferred the arguments of the fathers, as of Lactantius, Tertullian,
Justin Martyr, Cyril, &c., before those of the schoolmen, as being
more practical and natural, and so having a greater and a more con
stant awe upon the conscience ; whereas those of the schoolmen (who
questionless were the worser men) are more subtle and speculative,
and so less apt to be understood, and are not so always present with
the soul as the other are, that are founded in practical truths. Briefly,
then, you may know the gospel to be a word of truth, because what
ever is excellent in a religion is in an unparalleled manner found in
our religion, or in the doctrine of the gospel. The glory of a religion
lieth in three things — the excellency of rewards, the purity of precepts,
and the sureness of principles of trust. Now examine the gospel by
these things, and see if it can be matched elsewhere.

1. The excellency of rewards. This is one of the chief est perfec
tions of a religion. Therefore the apostle proposeth it a principle and
foundation of religion and worship to ' believe that God is, and that he
is a plentiful rewarder of those that seek him/ Heb. xi. 6. He that
cometh to God, that is, to engage in his worship, next to his being
must believe his bounty ; and the reason is, because a man, in all his
endeavours, is poised to some happiness and reward. Now since the
fall there are * many inventions/ Eccles. vii. 29. As the Sodomites,
when they were smitten with blindness, groped about Lot's door, so do
we grope and feel here and there for a reward that may be adequate
and of full proportion with our desires. The heathen were at a sad
loss and puzzle. Austin,1 out of Varro, reckoneth up two hundred

1 August, de Civit. Dei, lib. xix. cap. 1.

122 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 18.

and eighty-eight opinions about the chiefest good. Some placed it in
pleasures, and such things as gratified sense. But this were to make
brutes of men, for it is the beast's happiness to enjoy pleasures without
remorse ; and Tully saith, he is not worthy the name of a man, qui
unum diem velit esse in voluptate, that would entirely spend one
whole day in pleasures. Alas ! this is a way so gross, so oppressive,
and burthensome to nature, so full of disturbance and distraction to
reason, that it can never satisfy. Some went higher for a reward for
virtue, and talked of victory over enemies, long life, and a happy old
age; but many that were good wanted these blessings. Others
dreamed of a kind of eternity, and placed it in fame and the per
petuity of their name and renown, which is a kind of shadow of the
true eternity ; but this was a sorry happiness to those that lived and
died obscurely. Those that went highest could go no higher than the
exercise of virtue, and said that virtue was a reward to itself ; and
said that a man was happy, if virtuous, in the greatest torments, in
Phalaris' brazen bull, &c. But, alas ! ' If our happiness were in this
life only, we were of all men most miserable/ 1 Cor. xv. 19. . Chris
tianity would scarce make amends for the trouble of it. But now the
gospel goeth higher, and propoundeth a pure and sweet hope, most
pure, and fittest for such a sublime creature, a reasonable creature, as
man is, and most sweet and contenting, and that is the eternal and
happy enjoyment of God in Christ in the life to come ; not a Turkish
paradise, but chaste and rational ' pleasures at his right hand for ever
more/ Ps. xvi. 11 ; complete knowledge, perfect love, the filling up
of the soul with God; so that the gospel, you see, hath outbidden
all religions, propounding a fit and most excellent reward to the
holy life.

2. Purity of precepts. In the Christian religion all moral ' duties
are advanced and heightened to their greatest perfection : Ps. cxix.
96, * The commandment is exceeding broad/ of a vast extent and
latitude, comprising every motion, thought, and circumstance. The
heathens contented themselves with a shadow of duty. The apostle
saith, Eom. ii. 15, that epyov vofjuov, ' the work of the law, was written
upon their hearts ; ' that is, they had a sense of the outward work, and
a sight of the surface of the commandment. They made conscience
to abstain from gross acts of sin, and to perform outward acts of piety
and devotion, as sacrifice and babbling of hymns and prayers to their
gods. All their wisdom was to make the life plausible, to refrain
themselves ; as it is said of Haman, when his heart boiled with rancour
and malice against Mordecai, Esther v. 10, 'Haman refrained him
self.' So Lactantius proveth against them that they had not a true
way of mortification, and were not spiritual enough in their appre
hensions of the law : Sapientia eorum plerwnque abscondit vitia, non
abscindit — all their wisdom was to hide a lust, not to quench a lust ;
or rather to prevent the sin, not to check the lust. But now our holy
religion doth not only forbid sins, but lusts : 1 Peter ii. 11, ' Dearly
beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts.' Babylon's brats (as we showed before) by a holy murder must
be dashed against the stones. The precepts are exact, commanding
love, not only to friends, but enemies. The law is spiritual, and

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 123

therefore in all points perfect : Ps. xix. 7, ' The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul ;' that is, not only guiding the offices of the
exterior man, but piercing to the thoughts, the first motions of the
heart ; we have a perfect law.

3. The sureness of the principles of trust. One of the choicest
respects of the creature to the Godhead is trust and dependence. And
trust, being the rest and quiet of the soul, must have a sure bottom
and foundation. Now stand upon the ways, and survey all the reli
gions in the world, and you will find no foundation for trust but in
the gospel, refer it to any object, trusting in God for a common mercy,
trusting in God for a saving mercy.

[1.] For a common mercy. There are no such representations of
God to the soul as in the gospel. The Gentiles had but loose and
dark thoughts of God, and therefore are generally described by this
character, ' Men without hope,' 1 Thes. iv, 13. I remember when
our Saviour speaketh against carking and anxiousness about outward
supports, he dissuadeth thus : ' Take no thought what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink, or what ye shall put on, for after these things
seek the Gentiles/ Mat. vi. 31, 32, implying such solicitude to be only
excusable in heathen who had no sure principles ; but you that know
providence and the care of a heavenly Father, should not be thus
anxious. It is true, the heathens had some sense of a deity ; they
had TO <yvM(TTov TOV <9eoO, some knowledge of the nature of God, Bom.
i. 20 ; but the apostle saith in the next verse, that ' they were vain, eV
$La\.oyicrfjLOLs, in their imaginations/ that is, in their practical infer
ences and discourses ; when they came to represent God as an object
of trust, and to form practical thoughts and apprehensions of his
majesty, there they were vain and foolish. But now in the gospel God
is represented as a fit object of trust, and therefore the solemn and
purest part of Christian worship is faith ; and it is judiciously observed
by Luther, Id agit tola scriptura, ut crcdamus Deum esse miseri-
cordem — it is the design of the whole scripture to bring the soul to
a steady belief and trust ; therefore the psalmist, wrhen he speaketh
of God's different administrations in the world and in the church,
when he cometh to his administrations in the church, he saith, Ps.
xciii. 5, ' The testimonies of the Lord are sure/ God deals with us
upon sure principles, though he hath discovered himself to the world
only in loose attributes.

[2.] For saving mercies ; and indeed that is the trial of all reli
gions ; that is best which giveth the soul a sure hope of salvation :
Jer. vi. 16, God biddeth them ' stand upon the ways, and see, and
ask for the good old way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls ; ' intimating, they should choose that for the best religion
which yieldeth most peace of conscience. Now, there are three things
that trouble the soul — our distance from God, our dread of angry jus
tice, and a despair of retaining comfort with a sense of duty ; and
therefore, ere the conscience can have any solid rest and quiet, there
must be three matches made, three couples brought together — God and
rnaii, justice and mercy, comfort and duty, all these must mutually
embrace and kiss each other.

(1.) God and man must be brought together. Some of the wise

124 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 18.

heathens placed happiness in the nearest access and approach to God
that may be, as Plato for one ; and Coelius Rhodiginus, saith Aristotle,
delighted much in that verse of Homer where it is said that it would
never be well till the gods and mortal men did come to live together.
Certain we are that common instinct maketh us to grope and feel
after an eternal good : Acts xvii. 27, ' They groped after God/ Now,
how shall we come to have any commerce with God, there being,
besides the distance of our beings, guilt contracted in the soul ? How
can stubble dwell with devouring burnings ? guilty creatures think of
God without trembling ? approach him without being devoured and
swallowed up of his glory ? The heathens were sensible of this in
some part, and therefore held that the supreme gods were defiled by
the unhallowed approaches of sinful and mortal men, and therefore
invented heroes and half-gods, a kind of middle powers, that were to
be mediators, to convey their prayers to the gods, and the blessings of
the gods back again to them : so Plutarch, Sia Sai/jLovtcov nraaa 6/uX/a
KOI SiaheKTos jjbera^v Oewv KOL avOpwTrwv — that by these intermediate
powers there was all commerce and communion between the gods and
men. To this doctrine of the heathen the apostle alludeth, 1 Cor.
viii. 5 ; the heathens had ' lords many, and gods many ; ' as they had
many gods, many ultimate objects of worship, so many lords, that is,
mediators. ' But to us (saith he) there is but one Lord, and one
God ; ' that is, one supreme essence and one Mediator, which is that
excellent and sure way which the scriptures lay down for our com
merce with God. The device of the heathens, being fabulous and
absurd, could not yield comfort ; but in the gospel there is excellent
provision made for our comfort and hope, for there the Godhead and
manhood is represented as met in one nature. The Son of God was
made the Son of man, that the sons of men might be the sons of God ;
therefore the apostle Peter showeth that the great work of Christ
was ' to bring us to God,' 1 Peter iii. 18, to bring God and man
together. So the apostle Paul saith, Heb x. 20, we may ' draw
near through the veil of his flesh.' It is an allusion to the temple,
where the veil hid the glory of the sanctum sanctorum, and gave
entrance to it. So Christ's incarnation did, as it were, rebate the
edge of the divine glory and brightness, that creatures may come and
converse with it without terror. Christ is the true Jacob's ladder,
John i. 51, the bottom of which toucheth earth — there is his
humanity ; and the top reacheth heaven — there is his divinity ; so
that we may climb this ladder, and have communion with God:
ascende per hominem et pervenies ad Deum, as that father said —
climbing up in hope by the manhood of Christ, we have social access
to the Godhead.

(2.) Justice and mercy must be brought together. We want mercy,
and fear justice ; guilt impresseth a trembling upon the spirit, be
cause we know not how to redeem our souls out of the hands of angry
justice; the very heathens were under this bondage and torment,
because of the severity of the divine justice : ' Knowing the judgment
of God, they thought themselves worthy of death,' Bom. i. 32. There-
fore^ the great inquiry of nature is, how we shall appease angry
justice., and redeem our souls from this fear. You know the question,

JAS. I. 18.J UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 125

Micah vi. 6, 7, ' Wherewith shall I come before him ? and wherewith
will he be pleased ? ' The heathens, in their blindness, thought to
oblige the Godhead by acts meritorious (as merit is natural), either
by costly sacrifices, ' rivers of oil, thousands of rams, burnt-offerings,
and whole burnt-offerings/ hecatombs of sacrifices ; or by putting them
selves to pains or tortures, as Baal's priests gashed themselves ; or by
doing some act that is unwelcome and displeasant to nature, as by
offering their children in sacrifices, those dear pledges of affection,
which certainly was an act of great self-denial, natural love being
descensive, and like a river running downward ; yea, this was not all,
the best of their children, their first-born, in whom all their hopes
were laid up, they being observed to be most fortunate and successful.
And this custom also the carnal Jews took up, for bare outward sacri
fice was but a dull way either to satisfy God (his being ' the cattle of
a thousand hills/ Ps. 1. 10), or to pacify conscience; for though it
were a worship of God's own appointing, yet it ' did not make the
comer thereunto perfect, as appertaining to the conscience/ Heb. ix.
9 ; that is, the worshipper that looked no further could never have a
quiet and perfect conscience, and therefore they ' caused their children
to pass through the fire to Moloch.' Such a barbarous custom could
not be taken up barely by imitation ; nothing but horror of conscience
could tempt men to an act so cruel and unnatural ; and the prophet
plainly saith, they ' gave their first-born for the sin of their soul.'
Thus you see all ways are at a loss, because they could not yield a
recompense to offended justice. But, in the gospel, 'justice and
mercy have kissed each other, righteousness and truth have met
together,' as it is Ps. Ixxxv. 10. And we may sing, ' Gracious is the
Lord, and righteous,' Ps. cxvi. 5 ; 'Our beloved is white and ruddy,'
Cant. v. 10. For there is a God satisfying as well as a God offended, so
that mercy and justice shine with an equal lustre and glory ; yea,
justice, which is the terror of the world, in Christ is made our friend,
and the chief ground of our hope and support ; as 1 John i. 9, ' The
Lord is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.' A man would
have thought faithful and gracious had been a more proper term than
faithful and righteous, pardon being most properly an act of free
grace ; but justice being satisfied in Christ, it is no derogation to his
righteousness to dispense a pardon. So the crown of glory is called ' a
crown of righteousness/ 2 Tim. iv. 8. There is a whole vein of
scriptures runneth that way, that make all the comfort and hope of a
Christian to hang upon God's righteousness ; yea, if you will believe the
apostle Paul, you shall see that God's great intent in appointing
Christ, rather than any other Kedeemer, was to show himself just in
pardoning, and that he might be kind to sinners without any wrong
to his righteousness; in short, that justice being satisfied, mercy
might have the freer course. Hear the apostle, and you shall see
he speaketh full to this purpose : Rom. iii. 25, 26, ' Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness in the remission of sins.' And lest we should lose the
emphatical word, he redoubleth it : 'To declare, I say, his righteous
ness, and that he might be just, and the justifier of him that belie veth
in Jesus : ' that is, in the matter of justification, where grace is most

126 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, . [JAS. I. 18,

free, God makes his righteousness shine forth, having received satis
faction from Christ.

(3.) Comfort and duty are brought together. The end of all reli
gion is ut anima sit subjecta Deo et pacata sibi — that the soul may
be quiet in itself, and obedient to that which is supposed to be God.
Now how shall we do to retain a care of duty with a sense of comfort ?
Conscience cannot be stifled with loose principles. The heathens
could not be quiet, and therefore, when their reason was discomposed
and disturbed with the rage of sensual lusts, and they knew not how
to bridle them, they offered violence to nature ; pulled out their eyes,
because they could not look upon a woman without lusting after her ;
and raged against their innocent members, instead of their unclean
affections. And we, that have the light of Christianity, know much
more that we cannot have comfort without duty; for though true
peace of conscience be founded in Christ's satisfaction, yet it is found
only in his service : Mat. xi. 28, ' Come to me, and I will give you
rest;' but in ver. 29 it is, 'Take my yoke upon you, and ye shall
find rest for your souls/ As we must come to Christ for comfort, so
we must stay under his discipline, if we would have a sense of it in
our own souls. Well, now, you shall see how excellently these are
provided for in the gospel. There is Spirit against weaknesses, and
merit against defects and failings, so that duty is provided for, and
comfort. They need not despair under weaknesses, having the assist
ance of a mighty Spirit ; they need not put out their eyes, having a
God to quench their lusts ; * they need not despair under the sense
of their defects, there being such a full merit in the obedience of
Christ. In short, when they have largest thoughts of duty, they
may have sweetest hopes of comfort, and say, with David, fs. cxix.
6, ' I shall not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy command
ments/

So much for the fifth observation.

Obs. 6. That God's children are his first-fruits. The word hinteth
two things — their dignity and their duty ; which two considerations
will draw out the force of the apostle's expression.

1. It noteth the dignity of the people of God in two regards : — (1.)
One is, they are ' the Lord's portion/ Xao? Treptoi/o-to?, his ' peculiar
people/ Titus ii. 14, the treasure people, the people God looketh after.
The world are his goods, but you his treasure. The word /crLo-^drwi' in
the text.is emphatical. Others are but his creatures, you his first-fruits.
He delighteth to be called your God ; he hath, as it were, impropriated
himself to your use and comfort : ' Blessed is the people whose God is
the Lord/ Ps. cxliv. 15. He is Lord of all, but your God. One said,
Tolle meum et tolle Deum—it is the relation to God that is sweet, and
a general relation yieldeth no comfort. Oh ! what a mighty instance
is this of the love of God to us, that he should reckon us for his first-
fruits, for his own lot and portion ! (2.) That they are the consider
able part of the world. The first-fruits were offered for the blessing
of all the rest : Prov. iii. 10, * Offer thy first-fruits, and so thy barns

1 ' Democritus excaecavit seipsum quod mulieres sine concupiscentia aspicere non posset,
et doleret si non esset potitus : at Christianus salvis oculis fceniinam videt ; animo ad-
versus libidinem csecus est.' — Tertul. in Apol., cap. 46.

JAS. I. 18.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 127

shall be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with wine.'
So here ; the children of God, they are the ' blessing in the cluster ;'
others fare the better for their neighbourhood ; they are the strength,
the ' chariots and horsemen' of a nation. It was a profane suggestion
in Haman to say, ' It was not for the king's profit to suffer them to
live.' These are the first-fruits that God taketh in lieu of a whole
nation, to convey a blessing to the rest.

2. It hinteth duty ; as — (1.) Thankfulness in all their lives. First-
fruits were dedicated to God in token of thankfulness. Cain is im
plicitly branded for unthankfulness because he did not offer the first-
fruits. You, that are the first-fruits of God, should, in a sense of his
mercy, live the life of love and praise. The apostle saith the mercies
of God should persuade us to offer ourselves, Eom. xii. 1. Now,
under the gospel, there are no sin-offerings, all are thank-offerings.
Well, then, give up yourselves in a reasonable way, 'X.oyiKrj Xarpeta, of
sacrifice. It is but reason that when God hath begotten us we should
be his first-fruits. The principle and motive of obedience under the
gospel is not terror, but gratitude : Luke i. 74, ' That we, being
delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve him without
fear/ &c. Your lives should show you to be first-fruits, to be yielded
to God as a testimony of thankfulness. (2.) It noteth holiness. The
first-fruits were holy unto the Lord. God's portion must be holy;
and therefore of things that were in their own nature an abomination
the first-fruits were not to be offered to God, as the first-born of a
dog or ass, but were to be redeemed with money. God can brook no
unclean thing. Sins in you are far more irksome and grievous to his
Spirit than in others. You shall see, Jer. xxxii. 30, it is said, ' The
children of Israel and Judah have only done evil before me from their
youth.' The Septuagint read, ILQVQI Troiovwres rr]v a/jbapriav^ ' they
alone, or they only, have been sinners before me ;' as if God did not take
notice of the sins of other nations : Israel, God's portion, are the only
sinners. (3.) It noteth consecration. You are dedicate things, and
they must not be alienated ; your time, parts, strength, and concern
ments, all is the Lord's ; you cannot dispose of them as you please, but
as it may make for the Lord's glory ; you are not first-fruits when you
'seek your own things ;' you are not to walk in your own ways, nor
to your own ends ; you may do with your own as it pleaseth you, but you
cannot do so with what is the Lord's. First-fruits were passed over
into the right of God, the owner had no property in them. Well,
then: — (1st.) You are not to walk in your own ways; your desires
and wills are not to guide you, but the will of God. ' There is a way
(saith Solomon) that seemeth right in a man's own eyes;' a corrupt
mind looketh upon it as good and pleasant, and a corrupt will and
desire is ready to run out after it. So the prophet Isaiah, chap. liii. 6,
1 We are all gone astray, every man to his own way.' Oh ! remember
you are to study the mind and will of God ; your own inventions will
seduce you, and your own affections will betray you. (2d.) Not to
your own ends : 2 Cor. v. 15, ' Henceforth we are no more to live to
ourselves/ to our pleasure, profit, honour, interests : we have no right
and property in ourselves, it is all given up to God. Those that gave
up all to God did not reserve a liberty for self-pursuits and self-

128 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I 19.

interests.1 All pleasures, honours, profits, are to be refused or received
as they make us serviceable to the glory of God.

Ver. 19. Wherefore, my Moved brethren, let every man be swift to
hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, &c. — You see these words are in
ferred out of the former. The apostle saith, ivherefore. Some make
the consequence thus: He hath begotten you, therefore walk as men
regenerate ; for they make these sentences to be of a general concern
ment, and take them in the largest sense and extent of them. But
this seemeth harsh, partly because it is not the use of the gospel to
descend to such low civilities as the ordering of speech and the like ;
much less would it urge such a weighty argument as regeneration in
a matter of such common importance ; and indeed the inference in
that sense is no way clear, and it would be a great gap and stride to
descend from such a weighty and spiritual matter to mere rules of
civility: partly because the subsequent context showeth these sen
tences must be restrained to the matter in hand ; for, ver. 21, he sub-
inferreth out of these sayings an exhortation to hear the word rightly ;
therefore I conceive the connection to stand thus : He had spoken of
the word of truth as being the instrument of conversion, and upon
that ground persuadeth to diligent hearing and reverent speaking of
it ; for so these sentences must be restrained, and then the coherence
is more fluent and easy, as thus : You see what an honour God hath
put on the word, as by it to beget us to himself ; therefore ' be swift
to hear,' that is, of a docile or teachable mind, be ready still to wait
upon God in the word ; be ' slow to speak/ that is, do not rashly
precipitate your judgment or opinion concerning things of faith ; be
' slow to wrath/ that is, be not angrily prejudiced against those that
seem to differ and dissent from you. Thus you see, if we con
sider these directions under a special reference to the matter in hand,
the context is easy. I confess it is good to give scripture its full lati
tude in application, and therefore rules may be commodiously extended
to repress the disorders of private conversation, as garrulity, when men
are full of talk themselves, and morosity, when they cannot endure to
hear others, and so also anger and private revenge ; especially when
any of these is found, as usually they are, in Christian meetings and
conventions, little patience, and much talk and anger. But the chief
aim of the apostle is to direct them in the solemn hearing of the word.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. From that ivherefore. It is a great encouragement to wait
upon the ordinances, when we consider the benefits God doth dispense
by them. In the institution of every duty there is a word of com
mand and a word of promise. The command for our warrant, the
promise for our encouragement. The command that we may come
in obedience, and the promise that we may come in faith. Thus it is
said, Isa. Iv. 3, ' Hear, and your soul shall live.' Hear, that is the
command. Your soul shall live, there is the promise. It is God's
mercy that no duty is a mere task, but a holy means ; and ordinances
are appointed, not only in sovereignty, but in mercy. Well, then,
Christians are not only to look to the ground of duties, but the end of

1 ' Nesciunt suis parcere qtii nihil simm norunt.' — Ambros.

JAS. I. 19.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 129

them, that sweeteneth them to us. God hath required nothing of you
but for your own benefit : Prov. ix. 12, ' If thou be wise, thou shalt be
wise for thyself.' God hath glory in your approaches, but you have
comfort. Oh ! consider, then, every time you come to hear the word,
the high privileges you may enjoy by it ! Say thus, when you come
to hear : I am to hear that my soul may live, I am going to the word
that is to beget me, to make my soul partaker of the divine nature.
Christians do not raise their expectations to such a height of mercies
as are offered to them in the ordinances.

Obs. 2. Again, from the illative particle ivJierefore. Experience
of the success of ordinances engageth us to a further attendance
upon them. He hath begotten you by the word of truth, ' where
fore, be swift to hear.' Who would baulk a way in which he hath
found good, and discontinue duty when he hath found the benefit of
it ? When God hath given you success, he hath given you a seal of
his truth, a real experience of the comforts of his service. The Stan-
carists,1 that think ordinances useless for believers, fit to initiate us
in religion, and no further, are ignorant of the nature of grace, the
state of their own hearts, and the ends of the word. Because this
proud sect is revived in our times, and man}r, as soon as they have
found the benefit of ordinances, think they are above them, let us a
little examine these particulars.

1. They are ignorant of the nature of grace, which always upon a
taste longeth for more: Ps. Ixiii. 1, 2, ' I long to see thy power and
glory, as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.' When the springs lie
low, a little water cast in bringeth up more : so, after a taste, grace
longeth for more communion with God ; they would see God as they
have seen him : so the apostle, 1 Peter ii. 3, 4, ' If ye have tasted that
he is gracious, come to him as to a living stone ; ' that is, if you have
had any taste and experience of Christ in the word (which is the
case in the context), you will be coming to him for more. However
it is with spiritual pride, grace is quickened by former success and
experience, not blunted.

2. They are ignorant of the intent and end of the word, which is
not only to beget us, but to make the saints perfect, Eph. iv. 12, 13.
The apostles, when they had established churches, returned to ' confirm
the disciples' hearts,' Acts xiv. 22. We are to look after growth, as
well as truth. Now, lest you should think it only concerneth the
new-born babes, or the weaker sort of Christians, you shall see those
of the highest form found need to exercise themselves herein : the
prophets ' searched diligently ' into the writings of other prophets, 1
Peter i. 11, 12. Daniel himself, though a prophet, and a prophet of
high visions,_ studied books, Dan. ix. 2. And still the greatest have
need of praying, meditating, reading, hearing, to preserve the work of
grace that is begun in their souls. That place is notable, Luke viii.
18, ' Take heed how you hear ; for whosoever hath, to him shall be
given ; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken that which
he seemeth to have/ Our Saviour upon this ground presseth them to
a greater conscience and sense of the duty of hearing, because those

1 From Stancaras, a professor at Konigsberg, and afterwards in Poland, where he died
in 1574.— ED.

VOL. IV. I

130 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 19.

tliat have grace already will have further confirmation and increase ;
and those that, upon a presumption and pretence of having grace,
neglect the means of grace, shall lose that which they seemed to have ;
that is, shall appear to be just nothing in religion, blasted in gifts, as
well as decayed in grace.

3. They are ignorant of the state of their own hearts. Are there
no graces to be perfected and increased ? no corruptions to be morti
fied ? no good resolutions to be strengthened ? no affections to be
quickened and stirred up ? Is there no decay of vigour and liveli
hood ? no deadness growing upon their spirits ? Certainly none need
ordinances so much as they that do not need them. The spirit is a
tender thing, soon discomposed. Things that are most delicate are
most dependent. Brambles grow of themselves, but the vine needeth
props. Wolves and dogs can rummage and seek abroad in the wilder
ness, but the sheep need a pastor. They that look into their hearts
would find a double need of ordinances. (1.) Knowledge is imperfect.
It is some good degree of knowledge to be sensible of our own ignor
ance ; none so proud and contented as they that know least : 1 Cor.
viii. 2, 'If any man thinketh he knoweth anything, he knoweth
nothing as he ought to know.' At first truths seem few, and soon
learned ; and it is some good progress in any learning to be sensible
and humbled with the imperfections of knowledge ; and it is so in
divine matters. We see little in the word till we come to be more
deeply acquainted with it : and then, Ps. cxix. 18, ' Open mine eyes,
that I may see wonders in thy law ; ' then we come to discern depths,
and such wisdom as we never thought of. The word is an ocean,
without bottom and banks. A man may see an end of other things,
and get the mastery over an art : 'I have seen an end of all perfec
tion, but thy commandment is exceeding broad,' Ps. cxix. 96. We
can never exhaust all the treasure and worth that is in the word. (2.)
Affections need a new excitement. Commands must be repeated to a
dull servant ; such is our will. We need fresh enforcements of duty
upon us. Live coals need blowing, and a good soldier the trumpet
to stir up his warlike rage, 1 Cor. xiv. 31. All may learn, or all be
comforted. The apostle there specifieth the two ends of prophecy,
which is either that we may learn, or be comforted, or exhorted ; the
word is indifferent to both those significations, either the improving of
knowledge, or the exciting of languishing affections.

Obs. 3. From that let every one. This is a duty that is universal,
and bindeth all men. None are exempted from hearing and patient
learning : ' the eye hath need of the foot.' Those that know most
may learn more. Junius was converted by discourse with a plough
man. A simple laic (as the story * calleth him) turned the whole
Council of Nice against Arianism. G-od may make use of the meanest
things for the instruction of the greatest. Paul, the great apostle,
calleth Priscilla and Persis, two women, his ' fellow-helpers in the
Lord/ Kom. xvi. Torches are many times lighted at a candle, and
the most glorious saints advantaged by the meanest. Christ would
teach his disciples by a child : ' He took a child, and set him in the
midst of them/ Mat. xviii. 2. It is proud disdain to scorn the

1 Socrates Scholast., lib. ii., Eccles. Hist., cap. 8.

JAS. I. 19.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 131

meanest gifts. There may be gold in an earthen vessel. There is none
too old, none too wise, none too high to be taught.1 Let every one.

Obs. 4. From that be swift, that is, ready. The commendation of
duties is the ready discharge of them. Swiftness noteth two things : —
(1.) Freeness of spirit ; do it without reluctancy when you do it ; no
offerings are accepted of God but such as are free-will offerings, Ps.
cxix. 108. (2.) Swiftness noteth diligence in taking the next occasion ;
they will not decline an opportunity, and say, Another day. Delay is
a sign of unwillingness. You shall see, Ezek. i., the beasts had four
faces and four wings ; they had four faces, as waiting when the Spirit
would come upon them ; and four wings, as ready to look and fly into
that part of the world into which God would dispatch them. This
readiness to take occasions is showed in three things : — (1st.) In restrain
ing all debates and deliberations : ' I consulted not with flesh and
blood, but immediately I went up to Jerusalem/ Gal. i. 10. When
the soul deliberateth about duty, it neglecteth it ; do not debate when
God commandeth, whether it be best or no ; the soul is half won when
it yieldeth to dispute things. God saith, Gen. ii. 17, ' In the day that
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die/ And Eve repeateth, chap. iii. 3,
' Thou shalt not eat, lest ye die ; ' and Satan saith, ver. 4, ' Ye shall
not surely die/ God affirmeth, the woman doubteth, and Satan
denieth. It is not good to allow the devil the advantage of a debate ;
when you pause upon things, Satan worketh upon your hesitancy. (2d.)
In laying aside all pretences and excuses. Duty would never be done
if we should allow the soul in every lesser scruple ; there will still be
' a lion in the way/ and opening to the Spouse will be interpreted a
defiling of the feet. Peter, as soon as he heard the voice of Christ,
cast himself into the sea, others came about by ship, Mai xiv. 29 ;
he did not plead the waves between him and Christ. (3d.) In yielding
yourselves up to the whole will of God without reservations, do not
allow one exception, or reserve one carnal desire : Acts ix. 6, ' Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do ? ' The ear and heart was open for
every command. So 1 Sam. iii. 9, ' Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth/ He was ready to receive whatever God would command ;
but, alas! it is otherwise with us. Christ cometh to offer himself
to us, as he did to the blind man: Luke xviii. 41, ' What wilt thou
that I shall do unto thee ? ' Christ is fain to ask our pleasure, not we
his. The master asketh what the servant will command. Yea, we
refuse him when he offereth himself to us : Heb. xii. 25, w Trapcurrj-
crare, ' See that ye refuse not/ &c. The word signifieth, do not urge
vain pretences. This is the fourth note, but I must be more par
ticular.

06s. 5. From that be swift to hear ; that is, the word of God, for
otherwise it were good to be slow in hearing. We may wish our
selves deaf sometimes/that we may not hear oaths, impurities, railings ;
as old Maris was glad that he was blind, that he could not see such
a cursed apostate as Julian. Divers things are implied in this
precept. I shall endeavour to draw out the sense of it in these particu
lars.

1. It showeth how we should value hearing : be glad of an oppor-

1 'Act yrjpdffKb) iroXXa didavKdnevos. — Solon.

132 AN EXPOSITION. WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 19.

tunity ; the ear is the sense of learning,1 and so it is of grace ; it is
that sense that is consecrated to receive the most spiritual dispensa
tions : Kom. x. 14, ' How shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard? ' The Lord beginneth his sermon with ' Hear, 0 Israel/
Deut. vi. When Christ was solemnly discovered from heaven to be
the great prophet of the church, the respect that is bespoken for
him is audience : Mat. xvii. 5, ' This is my beloved Son, hear him.'
God is pleased to appoint this way, do not despise it. Beading hath its
use, but the voice hath aliquid latentis energice, a secret force upon
the soul, because of the sympathy between the external word and
inward reason ; I mean, it hath a ministerial efficacy, by which the
authority and sovereign efficacy of the Spirit is conveyed. God
would insinuate a real efficacy in a moral way, and therefore useth
the voice. The apostle had spoken much of the word, and then he
saith, ' This is the word which is preached to you,' 1 Peter i. 25. ' It is
not the word read, but the word preached. You may judge it a vain
artifice, count it ' the foolishness of preaching/ but it is under the
blessing of a solemn institution: ' It pleased the Father/ &c., 1 Cor.
i. 21. Therefore, by the external voice there is meant, then, a
ministerial excitation. Eeading doth good in its place ; but to slight
hearing, out of a pretence that you can read better sermons at home, is a
sin. Duties mistimed lose their nature ; the blood is the continent of
life when it is in the proper vessels ; but when it is out, it is hurtful,
and breedeth putrefactions and diseases.

2. It showeth how ready we should be to take all occasions to hear
the word. If ministers must preach ' in season and out of season/
a people are bound to hear. It is observed that a little before the
French massacre Protestants were cloyed with the word ; and so it is
now. Heretofore they would run far and near to enjoy such an
opportunity : Mat. iii. 5, ' Jerusalem and Judea, and all the region
round about, came to hear John.' Some of those places mentioned
were thirty miles from .ZEnon beyond Salem, which was the place
where John baptized: 1 Sam. iii. 1, 'The word of the Lord was
precious in those days ; for there was no open vision.' Heretofore
lectures were frequented when they were more scarce. The wheat of
heaven was despised when it fell every day : Amos viii. 12, ' I will
send a famine of the word, and they shall wander from sea to sea,
from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro, and shall
not find it.' Then they would go far and near for a little comfort
and counsel. This is one of those enjoyments which is valued when
it is wanted. When manna is a common food, men lust for quails :
' Nothing but this manna ! ' This swiftness here showeth the content
men should take in hearing the word ; but, alas ! now men pretend
every vain excuse, their merchandise, their farm, and so cannot wait
upon the word of God : it may be on the Lord's day, when they dare
do nothing else ; but few take other occasions and opportunities. David
saith,Ps. xxvi. 8, ' I have loved the habitation of thy house, the place
where thine honour dwelleth/ It was comfort to him to wait upon
God, to come to the doors of wisdom, a burden to us.

' Plus est in auribus quam in oculis situm, quoniam doctrina et sapientia percipi
auribus solia potest, oculis soils non potest.' — Lactantius.

JAS. I. 19."] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 133

3. It noteth readiness to hear the sense and mind of others upon
the word. We should not be so puffed up with our own knowledge,
but we should be swift to hear what others can say. It is a great
evil to contemn others' gifts ; there is none so wise but he may receive
some benefit by the different handling of what he himself krioweth.
It is an advantage to observe the different breathings of the Spirit of
God in divers instruments. Job would not ' despise the cause of his
servants/ Job xxxi. And as we should not contemn their gifts, so
we should not contemn their judgments. In this being swift to
hear is condemned that l^io^vwjjioavvrj^ that private spirit, and over
prizing of our own conceits and apprehensions, so that we are not
patient to hear anything against them. Men are ' puffed up with their
own mind/ though it be ' fleshly' arjd carnal, Col. ii. 18 ; they make
a darling and an idol of their own thoughts. The apostle saith,
1 Cor. xiv. 30, ' If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let
the first hold his peace.' You do not know what may be revealed to
another ; no man is above a condition of being instructed. Divide
self from thy opinion, and love things not because they suit with thy
prejudices, but truth. ' Be swift to hear/ that is, to consider what
may be urged against you.

4. It noteth what we should do in Christian meetings. They are
apt to degenerate into noise and clamour ; we are all swift to speak,
but not to hear one another, and so all our conferences end in tumult
and confusion, and no good is gotten by them : every man's ' belly is
like a bottle full of wind, ready to burst for want of vent/ Job xxxii.
19. If we were as patient and swift to hear as we are ready to speak,
there would be less of wrath and more of profit in our meetings. I
remember when a Manichee contested with Augustine, and with
importunate clamour cried, ' Hear me, hear me/ the father modestly
answered, Nee ego te, nee tu me, sed ambo audiamus apostolum —
neither hear me, nor I thee, but let us both hear the apostle. It
were well if we could thus repress the violences and impetuousness of
our spirits ; when one crieth, Hear me, and another, Hear me, let us
both hear the apostle, and then we shall hear one another. He saith,
' Be swift to hear, slow to speak.' When Paul reproveth the disorder
and tumult that was in the Corinthian assemblies, he adviseth them
to speak ava pepos, l by turn or course/ 1 Cor. xiv. 27 ; and ver. 31,
* Ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all be
comforted ; ' that every one should have free liberty to speak, according
as their part and turn came, and not in a hurry and clatter, which
hindered both the instruction and comfort of the assembly.

Obs. 6. That there are many cases wherein we must be slow to speak.
This clause must also be treated of according to the restriction of the
context ; slow in speaking of the word of God, and that in several cases.

1. It teacheth men not to adventure upon the preaching of the
word till they have a good spiritual furniture, or are stored with a
sufficiency of gifts. It is not for every one that can speak an hour to
adventure upon the work of teaching. John was thirty years old
when he preached first, Luke iii. 1. In the fifteenth year of Tiberius,1
that was John's thirtieth year. Augustus reigned fifty-five years, and

1 Stapyld. in Prompt. Moral, in Dorn. 3, Advent.

134 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 19.

John was born in his fortieth year, and preached in the fifteenth of
Tiberius, his next successor. Every one itcheth after the dignity of
being a teacher in Israel. There is somewhat of superiority in it
(upon which reason the apostle forbiddeth women to teach, 1 Cor.
xiv. 34, because by the law of their creation they cannot be superiors),
and somewhat of profit, and therefore the time is hastened and pre
cipitated. Few stay till their youthful heats be spent, and thirty
years' experience hath fitted them for so great a work and burthen.
It is observable that Jesus Christ had also fulfilled thirty years ere he
entered upon his public ministry. Though I do not tie it merely to
the years ; either too young or too weak, it is all one to me. There
are (as Ignatius saith in his epistle to the Magnesians) TTJV 7ro\iav
fjidTiv cfrepovres, some that in vain hang out the bush of grey hairs,
when they have no good wine to vend or utter. Indeed, the drift of
that whole epistle is to persuade them to reverence their bishop, though
but of small years,1 where he instanceth in Daniel, Solomon, Jere
miah, Samuel, Josiah, whose youth was seasoned with knowledge and
piety, and concludeth that it is not age but gifts make a minister,
and, through the abundance of Spirit, there may be an old mind in a
young body ; and Timothy, though younger in years, was an elder in
the church. For my own particular, I must say, as Pharaoh's chief
butler said, Gen. xli. 9, ' I remember my faults this day.' I cannot
excuse myself from much of crime and sin in it ; but I have been in
the ministry these ten years, and yet not fully completed the thirtieth
year of my age ; the Lord forgive my rash intrusion. Whatever help
or furtherance I have contributed to the faith and joy of the saints by
my former public labours, or my private ministerial endeavours, or
shall do by this present work, I desire it may be wholly ascribed to
the efficacy of the divine grace, which is many times conveyed
and reached forth by the most unworthy instruments. But to return.
Tertullian 2 hath a notable observation concerning some sectaries in
his time, Nunquam citius prqficitur quam in castris rebellium, ubi
ipsum illic esse promereri est — that men usually have a quick dispatch
and progress in the tents of heresy, and become teachers ere they are
scarce Christians. He goeth on : Neophytos collocant, ut gloria eos
obligent, quia veritate non possunt — they set up young men to teach,
that they may win them by honour, when they cannot gain them by
truth. Certainly this is a bait that pride soon swalloweth ; and that
which hath drawn many into error, is a liberty to teach before they
are scarce anything in religion. Oh ! consider, hasty births do not fill
the house, but the grave. Men that obtrude themselves too soon upon
a calling do not edify, but destroy. It is good for a while to be slow
to speak. Aquinas, when he heard Albertus, was called Bos mutus,
the dumb ox, because for a great while he was altogether silent. It
is not the Spirit of God, but the spirit of vainglory which putteth
men upon things ^ which they are not able to wield and manage. It is
good to take notice of those compressions and constraints that are

1 Hortatur Magnesianos : ' MT? Kara^ovelv TT?S i)\iida.s TOV eirLffKbirov, ou irpol rj]v thai-
vw&yv afopuvras vettTrjTa dXXdt irpol TTJV tv Gey <t>p6v*i<rtv.''—Ignat. Epist. ad Maqnes sub
initio Epist.

2 Tertul. in lib. de Prescript, adversus Hseret.

JAS. I. 19.] UfON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 135

within our spirits ; but it is good also to take heed that they do not
arise from pride, or some carnal affections.

2. It showeth that we should not precipitate our judgments con
cerning doctrines and points of divinity. That we may not rashly
condemn or defend anything that is contrary to the word of God, or
of which we have certainty from the word. Be slow to speak ; that
is, do not speak till you have a sure ground. The sudden conceptions
of the mind are not always the best. To take up things hastily
engageth a man to many inconveniences. Moses would not give an
answer suddenly ; Num. ix. 8, ' I will hear what the Lord will speak
concerning you.' That great prophet was at a stand till he had spoken
with God. Under the law the tip of the priest's ear was to be sprinkled
with blood ; first he must hear Christ, and then speak to the people.
Well, then, be not too hasty to defend any opinion till you have tried
it. How mutable do men of a sudden spirit and fiery nature appear
to the world ! Rashly professing according to their present appre
hensions, they are forced to change often. There should be a due
pause ere we receive things, and a serious deliberation ere we defend
and profess them.

3. That we be not more forward to teach others than to learn our
selves. Many are hasty to speak, but backward to do, and can better
master it and prescribe to others than practise themselves, which our
apostle noteth: James iii. 1, 'My brethren, be not many masters;'
that is, be not so forward to discipline others when you neglect your
own souls. The apostle speaketh so earnestly, as if he meant to rouse
a benumbed conscience : Rom. ii. 21, * Thou which teachest another,
teachest thou not thyself?' And I have heard that a scandalous
minister, in reading of it, was struck at the heart and converted.
Since the fall, light is more directive than persuasive ; and therefore
a heathen could observe, that it is far more easy to instruct others
than to practise ourselves.1

4. That we do not vainly and emptily talk of the things of God,
and put forth ourselves above what is meet : it is good to take every
occasion, but many times indiscreet speaking doth more hurt than
silence. Some will be always bewraying their folly, and in every meet
ing engross all the discourse : Prov. x. 19, 'In the multitude of
words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise.'
We should weigh our words before we utter them : when men are
swift to speak and much in talk, they bewray some folly which is a stain
to them. So Prov. xvii. 27, ' He that hath understanding spareth
his words/ Empty vessels sound loudest ; and men of great parts,
like a deep river, glide on with the least noise.

5. It teacheth us not to be over-ready to frame objections against
the word. It is good to be dumb at a reproof, though not deaf. Let
not every proud thought break out into thy speeches. Guilt will
recoil at the hearing of the word, and the mind will be full of vain
surmises and carnal objections ; but alas ! how odious would men
appear if they should be swift to utter them — if thoughts, that are the
words of the mind, should be formed into outward words and expres-

1 '"Airavres Zfffiev ec's rb vovQerelv v6<f>oi, 6rav d'avroi iroiufiev /juapol ou yiyvu<?KOfJi.ei>.' —
Menander.

136 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 19.

sions. Thoughts may be corrected upon further information, but
words cannot be recalled; thoughts do only stain our own spirits,
words convey a taint to others ; thoughts are more indeliberate than
words ; in thoughts we mi with our mind only, in words with our
mind and tongue.

Obs. 7. That renewed men should be slow to wrath. You must
understand this with the same reference that you do the other clauses ;
and so it implieth that the word must not be received or delivered
with a wrathful heart : it concerneth both hearers and teachers.

1. The teachers. They must be slow to wrath in delivering the
word. (1.) Let not the word lacquey upon private anger : spiritual
weapons must not be used in your own cause ; you have not a power
to cast out of Christ at your own pleasure. The word is not com
mitted to you for the advancing of your esteem and interests, but
Christ's. The apostle had ' vengeance in a readiness/ 2 Cor. x. 6,
but it was for disobedience to Christ, not for disrespect to his own person.
Men that quarrel for esteem bring a just reproach and scandal upon
their ministry. (2.) Do not easily deliver yourselves up to the sway
of your own passions and anger : people will easily distinguish between
this mock thunder and divine threatenings. Passionate outcries do
only fright the easy and over-credulous souls, and that only for the
present ; proofs and insinuations do a great deal more good : snow
that falleth soft, soaketh deep. In the tempest Christ slept ; when
passion is up, true zeal is usually asleep.

2. The people. It teacheth them patience under the word. Do
not rise up in arms against a just reproof; it is natural to us, but be
slow to it ; do not yield to your nature. David said ' I have sinned
against the Lord/ 2 Sam. xii. 13, when Nathan set home his fact with
all the aggravations : and it is an accusation against a king, 2 Chron.
xxx vi. 12, * He humbled riot himself before Jeremiah the prophet,
speaking from the mouth of the Lord.' Mark, it is not said, ' before
the Lord/ but ' before Jeremiah.' God was angry with a great king
for not humbling himself before a poor prophet. Anger doth but
bewray your own guilt. One was reported to have uttered something
against the honour of Tiberius ; the crafty tyrant did the more strongly
believe it, because it was the just report of his own guilt. Quia vera
erant dicta credebantur, saith the historian.1 So many think we aim
at them, intend to disgrace them, because indeed there is a cause, and
so storm at the word. Usually none are angry at a reproof but those
that most deserve it ; and when conviction, which should humble,
doth but irritate, it is an ill sign. Those that were ' pricked at the
hearts/ Acts ii. 37, were much better tempered than those that were ' cut
to the heart/ Acts vii. 54, as humiliation is a better fruit of the word
than impatience. You shall see the children of God are most meek
when the word falleth upon their hearts most directly. David saith, ' Let
the righteous reprove me, and it shall be an oil/ £c. Reproof to a
gracious soul is like a sword anointed with balsam ; it woundeth and
healeth at the same time. So Hezekiah said, Isa. xxxix. 8, ' Good is
the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken : ' it was a sad word, a
heavy threatening; yet the submission of his sanctified judgment

1 Tacitus.

JAS. I. 19.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 137

calleth it good. In such cases you should not storm and rage, but
give thanks, and say, as David to Abigal, ' Blessed be the Lord that
sent thee to meet me this day : ' bless God for meeting with you in
the word.

Obs. 8. That it is some cure of passion to delay it. * Be slow to
wrath.' Anger groweth not by degrees, like other passions, but at her
birth she is in her full growth ; the heat and fury of it is at first, and
therefore the best cure is deliberation : 1 Prov. xix. 11, ' The discretion
of a man deferreth his anger ; ' that is, the revenge which anger
meditateth. Many men are like tinder or gunpowder, take fire at the
least spark of offence, and, by following their passions too close, run
themselves into inconveniences ; therefore it is good to check these
precipitant motions by delay and due recourse to reason : Prov. xiv.
29, ' He that is hasty in spirit exalteth folly.' When men are quick
and short of spirit, they are transported into many indecencies, which
dishonour God, and wound their conscience, and afterward have
cause enough, by a long repentance, to bewail the sad effects of a
short and sudden anger. Athenodorus advised Augustus, when he
was surprised with anger, to repeat the alphabet, which advice was so
far good, as it tended to cool a sudden rage, that the mind, being
diverted, might afterward deliberate. So Ambrose 2 counselled Theo-
dosius the Great (after he had rashly massacred the citizens of Thes-
salonica) to decree, that in all sentences that concerned life, the
execution of them should be deferred till the thirtieth day, that so
there may be a space for showing mercy, if need required. Well,
then, indulge not the violence and swiftness of passion ; sudden appre
hensions usually mistake, the ultimate judgment of reason is best.
Motions vehement, and of a sudden irruption, run away without a rule,
and end in folly and inconvenience. It is a description of God that
he is ' slow to wrath ; ' certainly a hasty spirit is most unlike God. It
is true that some good men have been observed to be ofu^oXot, hasty,
and soon moved, as Calvin.3 Augustine observes the like of his
father, Patricius,4 and some observe the same of Cameron ; 5 but for the
most part these motions in those servants of God were but (as Jerome
calleth them) propassions, sudden and irresistible alterations that were
connatural to them, and which they by religious exercises in a great mea
sure mortified and subdued ; and if anger came soon, it stayed not long.
Solomon says, Eccles. vii. 9, ' Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry,
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.' That anger is 6 most culpable
which soon cometh, but resteth or stayeth long, as being indulged.
So Solomon saith elsewhere, Prov. xiv. 17, ' He that is soon angry
dealeth foolishly, but a man of wicked devices is hated ; ' implying,
that sudden anger is an effect of folly and weakness, which may be

1 ' Maximum remedium iraedilatio est, ut primus ejus fervor relanguescat, etcaligo quae
prerait mentem aut resiliat aut minus densa sit ; graves habet impetus primo.' — Senec.
de Ira, lib. ii. cap. 28, and lib. iii. cap. 12.

2 Ruff., lib. ii. Hist., cap. 18 ; Theod., lib. v. Hist., cap. 26.

3 Beza in Vita Calvini, p. 109.

4 ' Erat vero ille sicut benevolentia praecipuus : ita ira fervidus.' — Aug. Confess., lib.
ix. cap. 9.

5 ' '0£i/xoXos quidam et adversus notos etfamiliares facile initabilis, sed qui etiam Irani
deponeret, atque ultro culpam et errorem agn«'*ceret.' — Icon. Carrier. Prcef. Operibus.

6 Qu. ' is not ' ?— ED.

138 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 20.

incident to the best, but to concoct anger into malice is an argument
of wickedness, and is found only in the most depraved natures ; in
short, it is contemptible to be angry suddenly, but to plot revenge
abominable.

Ver. 20. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of
God.

Here he rendereth a reason of the last clause, why they should take
heed of this indignation and rising of their hearts against the word,
because the wrath of man would hinder them from attaining that
righteousness and accomplishing that duty which God requireth in
his word.

For the ivrath of man. — There is an emphasis in that word : he
doth not say wrath in general, for there is always a righteousness in
the wrath of God. The apostle saith, Kom. i. 18, it is ' revealed
from heaven against the unrighteousness of men/ or, rather, the wrath
of man, to show that, under what disguises soever it appeareth, it is
but human and fleshly : there is nothing of God, but much of man
in it.

Worketh not, ov Karepjd^eraL — doth not attain, doth not persuade
or bring forth, any righteous action ; yea, it hindereth God from per
fecting his work in us.

The righteousness of God. — That is, say some, justice mixed with
mercy, which is the righteousness that the scriptures ascribe to God,
and anger will not suffer a man to dispense it ; but this seems too
much strained and forced. Others say the meaning is, it doth not
execute God's just revenge, but our own malice. But rather the
righteousness of God is put for such righteousness as God requireth,
God approveth, God effecteth ; and in this sense in scripture things
are said to be of God or of Christ which are effected by his power
or commanded in his word : thus faith is said to be the work of God,
John vi. 29, because he commandeth we should labour in it, which
plainly is the intent of that context ; and the apostle useth the word
' righteousness,' because anger puts on the form of justice and righteous
ness more than any other virtues. It seemeth to be but a just
displeasure against an offence, and looks upon revenge not as irrational
excess, but a just punishment, especially such anger as carrieth the
face of zeal, which is the anger spoken of in the text. Kage and
distempered heats in controversies of religion, and about the sense of
the word, such carnal zeal, how just and pious soever it seem, is not
approved and acquitted as righteous before God. It is observable
that there is a litotes in the apostle's expression — more is intended than
said ; for the apostle means, it is so far from working righteousness,
that it worketh all manner of evil ; witness the tragical effects of it
in the world: the slaughters that Simeon and Levi wrought in
Shechem : Sarah in her anger breaks two commandments at once,
takes the name of God in vain, and falsely accuseth Abraham,
Gen. xvi. 5.

Obs. 1. From the context. The worst thing that we can bring to a
religious controversy is anger. The context speaketh of anger occa
sioned by differences about the word. Usually no affections are so out
rageous as those which are engaged in the quarrel of religion, for then

JAS. I. 20.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 139

that which should bridle the passion is made the fuel of it, and that
which should restrain undue heats and excesses engageth them. How
ever, this should not be. Christianity, of all religions, is the meekest
and most humble. It is founded upon the blood of Christ, who is a
Lamb slain. It is consigned and sealed by the Spirit of Christ, who
descended like a dove. Both are emblems of a meek and modest
humility. And should a meek religion be defended by our violences,
and the God of peace served with wrathful affections, and the mad
ness of an evil nature bewray itself in the best cause ? Christ's war
fare needeth not such carnal weapons ; as Achish said, ' Have I need
of mad men ? ' 1 Sam. xxi. 15. So, hath Jesus Christ need of our
passions and furies ? Doth the God of heaven need { a tongue set on
fire of hell ' ? James iii. 6. Michael the archangel was engaged in
the best cause against the worst adversary, with Satan about the body
of Moses ; and yet the purity of his nature would not permit him to
profane his engagement with any excess and indecency of passion :
' He durst not bring against him a railing accusation,' Jude 9. And
as the wrath of man is unsuitable to the matters of God, so it is also
prejudicial. When tongue is sharpened against tongue, and pen against
pen, what followeth ? Nothing but mutual animosities and hatreds,
whereby, if we gain aught of truth, we lose much of love and good
ness. Satan would fain be even with God. The devil's kingdom is
mostly ruined by the rage of his own instruments ; and you cannot
gratify Satan more than when you wrong the truth by an unseemly
defence of it ; l for then he seemeth to be quits with Christ, overturn
ing his kingdom by those which are engaged in the defence of it.
Briefly, then, if you would do good, use a fit means. The barking
dog loseth the prey. Violence and furious prosecution seldom gaineth.
Those engage most successfully that use the hardest arguments and
the softest words ; whereas railings and revilings, as they are without
love, so they are without profit. Be watchful ; our religious affections
may often overset us.

06s. 2. From that ivorketh not the righteousness. Anger is not to
be trusted ; it is not so just and righteous as it seemeth to be. Of all
passions this is most apt to be justified. As Jonah said to God, ' I
do well to be angry,' Jonah iv. 9, so men are apt to excuse their heats
and passions, as if they did but express a just indignation against an
offence and wrong received. Anger, like a cloud, blindeth the mind,
and then tyranniseth over it. There is in it somewhat of rage and
violence ; it vehemently exciteth a man to act, and taketh away his
rule according to which he ought to act. All violent concitations of
the spirit disturb reason, and hinder clearness of debate ; and it is
then with the soul as it is with men in a mutiny, the gravest cannot
be heard ; and there is in it somewhat of mist and darkness, by which
reason, being beclouded, is rather made a party than a judge, and doth
not only excuse our passion, but feed it, as being employed in represent
ing the injury, rather than bridling our irrational excess. Well, then,
do not believe anger. Men credit their passion, and that foments it.
In an unjust cause, when Sarah was passionate, you see how confident
she is, Gen. xvi. 5, * The Lord judge between me and thee.' It would

1 ' Affectavit quandoque diabolus veritateru defendendo concutere.' — Tert.

140 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 20.

have been ill for her if the Lord had umpired between her and Abra
ham. It was a strange confidence, when she was in the wrong, to
appeal to God. You see anger is full of mistakes, and it seemeth
just and righteous when it doth nothing less than work the righteous
ness of God. The heathens suspected themselves when under the
power of their anger. ' I would beat thee/ saith one, ' if I were not
angry/ l When you are under the power of a passion, you "have just
cause to suspect all your apprehensions ; you are apt to mistake others,
and to mistake your own spirits. Passion is blind, and cannot judge ;
it is furious, and hath no leisure to debate and consider.

Obs. 3. From that anger of man and righteousness of God. Note
the opposition, for there is an emphasis in those two words man and
God. The point is, that a wrathful spirit is a spirit most unsuitable
to God. God being the God of peace, requireth pacatum animum —
a quiet and composed spirit. Thunder is in the lower regions,
inferiora fulminant ; all above is quiet. Wrathful men are most unfit
either to act grace or to receive grace ; to -act grace by drawing nigh
to God in worship, for worship must carry proportion with the object
of it, as the God that is a spirit, John iv. 27, will be served in spirit ; so
the God of peace with a peaceable mind. So to receive grace from
God : angry men give place to Satan, but grieve the Spirit, Eph. iv. 26,
27, with 30, and so are more fit to receive sin than grace. God is
described, Ps. ii. 4, to ' sit in the heavens,' which noteth a quiet and
composed posture ; and truly, as he sitteth in the heavens, so he
dwelleth in a meek and quiet spirit.

Obs. 4. The last note is more general, from the whole verse : that
man's anger is usually evil and unrighteous. Anger and passion is a
sin with which the people of God are many times surprised, and too
often do they swallow it without grief and remorse, out of a conceit
partly that their anger is such as is lawful and allowed ; partly that
it is but a venial evil, and of sudden surreption, for which there is a
pardon of course.

I shall therefore endeavour two things briefly : —

1. Show you what anger is sinful.

2. How sinful, and how great an evil it is.

First, To state the matter, that it. is necessary, for all anger is not
sinful ; one sort of it falleth under a concession, another under a com
mand, another under the just reproofs of the word.

[1.] There are some indeliberable motions, which Jerome calleth
propassions,2 sudden and irresistible alterations, which are the infelici
ties of nature, not the sins ;3 tolerable in themselves, if rightly stinted.
A man is not to be stupid and insensate : anger in itself is but a
natural motion to that which is offensive ; and (as all passions) is so
long lawful as it doth not make us omit a duty, or dispose us to a sin,
or exceed the value of its impulsive cause. So the apostle saith, ' Be
angry, and sin not,' Eph. iv. 26. He alloweth what is natural, for-
biddeth what is sinful.

[2.] There is a necessary holy anger, which is the whetstone of

1 ' Cocdissem te nisi iratus essem.' — Plato.

2 ' UpoTrddeiai, non irddrjS — Hicron. Epist. ad Demet.

3 ' Infirmitates, non iniquitates.' — Ambros.

JAS. I. 20.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 141

fortitude and zeal. So it is said, ' Lot's righteous soul was vexed/
2 Peter ii. 7. So Christ himself, Mark iii. 5. ' He looked about him
with anger.' So Moses' wrath waxed hot, Exod. xi. 8. This is but
an advised motion of the will, guided by the rules of reason. Cer
tainly they are angry and sin not who are angry at nothing but sin :
it is well when every passion serveth the interests of religion. How
ever, let "me tell you, this being a fierce and strong motion of the
spirit, it must be used with great advice and caution. (1.) The prin
ciple must be right. God's interests and ours are often twisted, and
many times self interposeth the more plausibly because it is varnished
with a show of religion ; and we are more apt to storm at indignities
and affronts offered to ourselves rather than to God. The Samaritans
rejected Christ, and in the name of Christ the apostles, they presently
called for fire from heaven; but our Lord saith, Luke ix. 55, 'Ye
know not what mariner of spirit ye are of.' It is good to look to
the impulses upon which our spirits are acted ; pride and self-love
is apt to rage at our own contempt and disgrace ; and the more
securely when the main interest is God's. A river many times loseth
its savour when it is mingled with other streams; and zeal that
boileth up upon an injury done to God may prove carnal, when it is
fed with the accessions of our own contempt and interest.1 It is
observed of Moses, that he was most meek in his own cause. When
Miriam and Aaron spoke against him, it is said, Num. xii. 3, ' The
man Moses was meek above all men in the earth ; ' but when the law
was made void, he broke the tables, and his meek spirit was heightened
into some excess of zeal. By that action you would have judged his
temper hot and furious. Lot's spirit was vexed, but it was with
Sodom's filthiness, not with Sodom's injuries. Zeal is too good an
affection to be sacrificed to the idol of our own esteem and interests.
(2.) It must have a right object : the heat of indignation must be
against the crime, rather than against the person : good anger is
always accompanied with grief ; it prompteth us to pity and pray
for the party offending. Mark iii. 5, Christ ' looked about him with
anger, and was grieved for the hardness of their hearts/ False zeal
hath mischief and malice in it ; it would have the offender rooted out,
and purposeth revenge rather than correction. (3.) The manner
must be right. See that you be not tempted to any indecency and
unhandsomeness of expression ; violent and troubled expressions argue
some carnal commotion in the spirit. Moses was angry upon a good
cause, but he * spake unadvisedly withj his lips,' Ps. cvi. 33. In reli
gious contests men are more secure, as if the occasion would warrant
their excesses ; and so often anger is vented the more freely, and lieth
unmortified under a pretence of zeal.

[3.] There is a sinful anger when it is either — (1.) Hasty and inde-
liberate. Kash and sudden motions are never without sin. Some
pettish spirits are, as I said, like fine glasses, broken as soon as
touched, and all of fire upon every slight and trifling occasion ; when
meek and grave spirits are like flints, that do not send out a spark but
after violent and great collision. Feeble minds have a habit of wrath,

[J.tv i/'i/xtf ^ay KaO' eavrov Sta/3o\ds viro<j>epwv, &c.' — Basil ad Fratres in
Ercmo.

142 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 20.

and, like broken bones, are apt to roar with the least touch : it argueth
much unmortifiedness to be so soon moved. Or, (2.) Immoderate,
when it exceedeth the merits of the cause, as being too much, or kept
too long : too much when the commotion is so immoderate as to dis
compose the spirit, or to disturb reason, or to interrupt prayer, and
the free exercise of the spirit in duties of religion. When men have
lost that patience in which they should possess and enjoy themselves,
Luke xxi. 19. There is a rational dislike that may be allowed, but such
violent commotions are not without sin. Too long : anger should be
like a spark, soon extinguished ; like fire in straw, rather than like fire
in iron. Thoughts of revenge are sweet, but when they stay long in
the vessel they are apt to wax eager and sour. New wine is heady,
but if it be kept long, it groweth tart. Anger is furious, but if it be
detained, it is digested and concocted into malice. Aristotle reckoneth
three degrees of angry men, each of which is worse than the former ;
some are hasty, others are bitter, others are implacable.1 Wrath
retained desistetli not without revenge. Oh ! consider this spirit is
most unchristian. The rule of the word is, ' Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath/ Eph. iv. 26. This is a fire that must be covered
ere we go to bed : if the sun leave us angry, the next morning he may
find us malicious. Plutarch saith of the Pythagoreans that if any offence
had fallen out in the day, they would before sunset mutually embrace
one another, and depart in love.2 And there is a story of Patricius
and John of Alexandria, between whom great anger had passed ; but
at evening John sent to him this message, The sun is set; upon which
they were soon reconciled. (3.) Causeless, without a sufficient ground :
Mat. v. 22, ' Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, is
in danger of judgment/ But now the great inquiry is, What is a
sufficient cause for anger ? Are injuries ? I answer — No ; our religion
forbiddeth revenge as well as injury, for they differ only in order.
The ill-doing of another doth not loosen and take away the bond of
our love. When men are provoked by an injury, they think they may
do anything ; as if another's injury had exempted them from the
obedience of God's law. This is but to repeat and act over their sins :
it was bad in them, it is worse in us ; for he that sinneth by example
sinneth twice,3 because he had an instance of the odiousness of it in
another. To ' answer a fool according to his folly ' is to be ' like him/
Prov. xxvi. 4 ; to practise that myself which I judge odious in another ;
and certainly it cannot be any property of a good man purposely to be
evil because another is so.4 But are mishaps a cause ? I answer — No ;
this were not only anger, but murmuring, and a storming against
providence, by which all events, that are to us casual, are determined.
But are the miscarriages of children and servants a cause ? I answer — If
it be in spiritual matters, anger justly moderated is a duty. If in moral
and civil, only a rational and temperate displeasure is lawful. For it

1 e'0pyi\ol, TriKpol, xd\eiroi.' — Arist. Ethic., lib. iv. cap. 18.

2 ' TLv0ayoptKol ytvei wStv irporfKOvres, dXXoi KOIVOV \6yov ^er^vr^, etirore irpoaxOeiev
ei's \oi8oplav VTT opyijs, irplv rbv ijKiov dvvai rds 5e£tds ^SaXXovres dXX^Xois Kal da"jracrdiJ.evoL
SieXtfojTO. ' — Plutarch.

3 ' Qui exemplo peccat bis peccat.'

4 ' Qui referre injuriam nititur, eum ipsum a quo laesus est gestifc imitari ; et qui
malum imitatur bonus ease nullo pacto potest.'— Lactant. de Vero Cultu, lib. 6. cap. 10.

JAS. I. 20.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 143

is but a natural dislike and motion of the soul against what is unhand
some and troublesome. But we must see that we regard measure,
and time, and other circumstances. (4.) Such as is without a good
end. The end of all anger must be the correction of offences, not the
execution of our own malice. Always that anger is evil which hath
somewhat of mischief in it, which aimeth not so much at the convic
tion and reclaiming of an offender as his disgrace and confusion.
The stirring of the spirit is not sinful till revenge mingle with it.
Well, then, as there must be a good cause, there must be a good end.
Cain was angry with Abel without a cause, and therefore his anger
was wicked and sinful, Gen. iv. 5. But Esau had some cause to be
angry with Jacob, and yet his anger was not excusable, because
there was mischief and revenge in it, Gen. xxvii. 41.

Secondly, My next work is to show you how sinful it is. I have
been larger in the former part than my method permitted ; I shall the
more contract myself in this. Consider an argument or two.

1. Nothing maketh room for Satan more than wrath : Eph. iv.
26, 27, ' Be angry and sin not ;' and it followeth, ' Give not place to
the devil ;' as if the apostle had said, If you give place to wrath, you
will give place to Satan, who will further and further close with you.
When passions are neglected they are ripened into habits, and then
the devil hath a kind of right in us. The world is full of the tragical
effects of anger, and therefore, when it is harboured and entertained,
you do not know what may be the issue of it.

2. It much woundeth your own peace. When the apostle had
spoken of the sad effects of anger, he added, Eph. iv. 30, ' And grieve
not the Holy Spirit, by which you are sealed to the day of redemption.'
The Spirit cannot endure an unquiet mansion and habitation : wrath
ful and fro ward spirits usually want their seal, that peace and establish
ment which others enjoy ; for the violences of anger do not only dis
compose reason, but disturb conscience. The Holy Ghost loveth a
sedate and meek spirit ; the clamour and tumult of passion frighteth
him from us, and it is but just with God to let them want peace of
conscience that make so little conscience of peace.

3. It disparageth Christianity : the glory of our religion lieth in the
power that it hath to sanctify and meeken the spirit. Now when men
that profess Christ break out into such rude and indiscreet excesses,
they stain their profession, and debase faith beneath the rate of reason,
as if morality could better cure the irregularities of nature than re
ligion. Heathens are famous for their patience under injuries, dis
covered not only in their sayings and rules for the bridling of passion,
but in their practice. Many of their sayings were very strict and
exact ; for, by the progressive inferences of reason, they fancied rules
of perfection, but indeed looked upon them as calculated for talk,
rather than practice. But when I find them in their lives passing by
offences with a meek spirit, without any disturbance and purposes of
revengeful returns, I cannot but wonder, and be ashamed that I have
less command and rule of my own spirit than they had, having so
much advantage of rule and motive above them. As when I read that
Lycurgus l had one of his eyes struck out by an insolent young man,

1 Plutarch, in Vita Lycurgi.

144 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 20.

and yet used much lenity and love to the party that did it, how can
I choose but blush at those eager prosecutions that are in my own
spirit upon every light distaste, that I must have limb for limb, tooth
for tooth, and cannot be quiet till I have returned reviling for revil-
in«- ? &c. Certainly I cannot dishonour the law of Christ more than
to°do less than they did by the law of nature.

Ver. 21. Wherefore lay apart allfllthiness and superfluity of naugh
tiness, and receive with meekness the ingrafted word, ivhich is able
to save your souls.

The apostle having formerly spoken of the power of the word, and
from thence inferred that it should be heard willingly, and without
a cavilling or contradicting spirit, and to that purpose having shown
the evil of wrath, he again enforceth the main exhortation of laying
aside all wrathful and exulcerated affections, that they might be fitter
to entertain the word with an honest and meek heart, for their comfort
and salvation. There is in the verse a duty, and that is, ' receiving
of the word;' the help to it, and that is, ' laying aside' evil frames of
spirit. Then there is the manner how this duty is to be performed,
' with meekness ;' then the next end, and that is * ingrafting the word ;'
then the last end, which is propounded by way of motive, ' which is
able to save your souls.'

Wherefore, that is, because wrath is such an hindrance to the right
eousness which God requireth ; or it may be referred to the whole
context, upon all these considerations.

Lay apart, air 06 eleven. — The force of the word implieth we should
put it off as an unclean rag or worn garment : the same metaphor is
used by the apostle Paul : Eph. iv. 22, ' That ye put off the old man,
which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts ;' and Col. iii. 8, in a
very like case, ' But now put off these, anger, malice, wrath, blasphemy,
filthy communication.

All filtliiness, Traaav pvTrapiav. — The word is sometimes put for
the filthiness of ulcers, and for the nastiness and filth of the body
through sweating, and is here put to stir up the greater abomination
against sin, which is elsewhere called ' the filth of the flesh/ 1 Peter
iii. 21. Some suppose the apostle intendeth those lusts which are most
beastly, and have greatest turpitude in them ; but either the sense
must be more general to imply all sin, or more particularly restrained
to filthy and evil speaking, or else it will not so well suit with the
context.

And superfluity of naughtiness, rrjv Trepicrcrelav Kaicias. — It may
be rendered ' the ovei£owing of malice ; ' and so it noteth scoffs, and
railings, and evil speakings, which are the superfluity of that in which
everything is superfluous ; and these are specified in a parallel place
of the apostle Peter, 1 Peter ii. 1, to which James might allude, writ
ing after him. Beza rendereth it 'the excrement of wickedness.'
Some make it an allusion to the garbage of the sacrifices in the brook
.Kedron. Most take it generally for that abundance of evil and filthi
ness that is in the heart of man".

And receive. — A word often used for the appropriation of the word,
and admitting the power of it into our hearts. Eeceive, that is, give
it more way to come to you ; make more room for it in your hearts.

JAS. I. 21.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 145

Thus it is charged upon them, 2 Thes. ii. 10, that ' they received not
the love of the truth.' So it is said of the natural man, ov Se^rai,
* He receiveth not the things of God/ This is a notion so proper to
this matter, that the formal act of faith is expressed by it, John i. 11,
' To as many as received him/ &c.

With meekness ; that is, with a teachable mind, with a modest, sub
missive spirit.

The ingrafted tvord, \6<yov e^vrov. — Some refer it to reason,
others to Christ, but with much absurdity ; for this word noteth the
end and fruit of hearing, that the word may be planted in us ; and the
apostle showeth that, by the industry of the apostles, the word was
not only propounded to them, but rooted in them by faith. The like
metaphor is elsewhere used : ' I have planted,' 1 Cor. iii. 6, that is,
God by his means ; and the metaphor is continued, Col. i. 6, \6yos
KapTTofopov/jievos, a phrase that noteth the flourishing and growing of
the word after the planting of it in the soul.

Which is able to save ; that is, instrumentally, as it is accompanied
with the divine grace ; for the gospel is ' the power of God unto salva
tion,' Kom. i. 16.

Your souls ; that is, yourselves, bodies and souls. Salvation is attri
buted to the soul by way of eminency, the principal part being put for
the whole : Eom. xiii. 1, ' Let every soul be subject to the higher
powers,' that is, every person. So in other places the same manner of
expression is used in this very matter : 1 Peter i. 9, ' The end of your
faith, the salvation of your souls ; ' so Mat. xvi. 20, ' Lose his own
soul,' that is, himself. In such forms of speech the body is not ex
cluded, because it always followeth the state of the soul.

The notes are many : I shall be the briefer.

Ols. 1. From that laying aside. Before we come to the word
there must be preparation. They that look for the bridegroom had
need trim up their lamps. The instrument must be tuned ere it can
make melody. Hash entering upon duties is seldom successful. God
may meet us unawares, such is his mercy ; but it is a great adventure.
The people were to wash their clothes when they went to hear the law,
Exod. xix. 10. Something there must be done to prepare and fix the
heart to seek the Lord, 2 Chron. xx. 19 ; Ps. Ivi. 8. Solomon saith,
' Take heed to thy foot when thou goest into the house of God,' Eccles.
v. 1. The heathens had one in their temples to remember them that
came to worship of their work ; he was to cry, Hoc age. Many come
to hear, but they do not consider the weight and importance of the
duty. Christ saith, Luke viii. 18, ' Take heed how you hear.' It
were well there were such a sound in men's ears in the times of their
approaches to God ; some to cry to them, ' Oh, take heed how you hear/
It is good to be ' swift to hear,' but not to be rash and inconsiderate.
Do not make such haste as to forget to take God along with you. You
must begin duties with duties.1 Special duties require a special setting
apart of the heart for God, but all require something. Inconsiderate
addresses are always fruitless. We come on, and go off, and there is
all. We do not come with expectation, and go without satisfaction.
Well, then, come with more advised care when you come to wait upon

1 ' Iter ad pietatem est intra pietatem. '
VOL. IV. K

146 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 21.

God ; look to your feet, and come prepared. Let me speak one word
by way of caution, and another by way of direction.

1. By way of caution. (1.) Do not exclude God out of your pre
parations. Usually men mistake in this matter, and hope by their
own care to work themselves into a fitness of spirit. Preparation
consisteth much in laying aside evil frames ; and before you lay aside
other evil frames, lay aside self-confidence : Prov. xvi. 1, ' The pre
parations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from
the Lord ; ' the very dispositions and motions of the spirit are from
him. It is a wrong to that text to expound it so as if the preparation
were from man and the success from God ; both are from the Lord.
God's children have entered comfortably upon duties, when they have
seen God in their preparations : Ps. Ixxi. 16, ' I will go forth in the
strength of God;' that is, to the duty of praise, as is clear in the
context. (2.) Though you cannot get your hearts into such a frame
as you do desire, trust God : ' Faith is the evidence of things not
seen/ Heb. xi. 1 ; and that help which is absent to sense and feeling
may be present to faith. A bell may be long in rising, but it ringeth
loud when it is once up. You do not know how God may come in.
The eunuch read, and understood not, and God sent him an in
terpreter, Acts viii. When you begin duty you are dead and indis
posed ; but you do not know with what sensible approaches of his
grace and power he may visit you ere it be over. It is not good to
neglect duty out of discouragements ; this were to commit one sin to
excuse another : ' Say not, I am a child/ Jer. i. 6 : 'I am slow of
lips/ ' Who made the mouth ? ' Exod. iv. 10, 11.

2. By way of direction. I cannot go out into all the severals of
preparation, how the heart must be purged, faith exercised, repentance
renewed, wants and weaknesses reviewed, God's glory considered, the
nature^ grounds, and ends of the ordinances weighed in our thoughts.
Only, in the general, so much preparation there must be as will
make the heart reverent. God will be served with a joy mixed with
trembling : the heart is never right in worship till it be possessed
with an awe of God : ' How dreadful is this place ! ' Gen. xxviii. 17.
And again, such preparation as will settle the bent of the spirit
heavenward. It is said somewhere, ' They set themselves to seek the
Lord ; ^ and David saith, Ps. Ivii. 7, ' My heart is fixed, my heart is
fixed ; ' that is, composed to a heavenly and holy frame. And again,
such preparation as will make you come humble and hungry. Grace
is^usually given to the desiring soul : ' He hath filled the hungry
with good things/ Luke i. 53. Again, such as erecteth and raiseth
the heart into a posture of expectation. It is often said, ' Be it to
thee according to thy faith.' They that look for nothing find nothing ;
Uhnst s greater things are for those that believe, John i. 50.

Obs. ^ 2. Christian preparation consists most in laying aside and dis
possessing evil frames. Weeds must be rooted out before the ground
is fit to receive the seed : < Plough up your fallow ground, and sow not
among thorns/ Jer. iv. 3. There is an unsuitableness between a filthy
spirit and the pure holy word ; and therefore they that will not leave
their accustomed sins are unfit hearers. The matter must be pre
pared ere it can receive the form. Some translate Paul's

JAS. I. 21.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 147

eavrbv, I Cor. xi. 28, ' Let him purge himself/ get away his dross and
corruption. All this showeth the need of renewing repentance before
the hearing the word ; that sin being dispossessed, there may be
room for the entrance of grace. Noxious weeds are apt to grow
again in the best minds ; therefore, as the leper under the law was
still to keep his hair shaven, Lev. xiv., so should we cut and shave,
that though the roots of sin remain, yet they may not grow and
sprout. There is an extraordinary vanity in some men, that will lay
aside their sins before some solemn duties, but with a purpose to
return to the folly of them ; as they fable the serpent layeth aside his
poison when he goeth to drink. They say to their lusts as Abraham
to his servants, ' Tarry you here, for I must go yonder and worship ;
I will come again to you/ Gen. xxii. 5. They do not take an ever
lasting farewell of their sins. But, however, they are wiser than those
that come reeking from their sins into God's presence : this is to dare
him to his face. The Jews are chidden for praying with their
* hands full of blood/ Isa. i. 15. They came boldly, before they had
been humbled for their oppression : ' If her father had spat in her face,
should she not be ashamed seven days?' Num. xii. 14. After great
rebellions there should be a solemn humbling and purging. What
can men that come in their sins expect from God ? Their state con-
futeth their worship. God will have nothing to do with them, and
he marvelleth they should have anything to do with him. He hath
nothing to do with them : Job viii. 20, ' He will not help the evil
doers ;' in the original, ' He will not take the wicked by the hand;'
and he wondereth you should have anything to do with him : ' What
hast thou to do to take my words into thy mouth?' Ps. 1. 16.

Obs. 3. From the word laying aside, aTroOepevoi. Put it off as a
rotten and filthy garment. Sin must be left with an utter detestation :
Isa. xxx. 22, ' Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth ;
thou shalt say, Get ye hence/ Sin is often expressed by abomination ;
it is so to God, it should be so to men. Faint resistance argueth
some inclination of the mind to it. Here affections should be drawn
out to their height ; grief should become contrition, anger should
be heightened into rage and indignation, and shame should be
turned into confusion ; no displeasure can be strong and keen enough
for sin.

Obs. 4. From that all. We must not lay aside sin in part only,
but all sin. So in Peter, the particle is universal, iraa-av /carclav, 1
Peter ii. 1, ' all malice : ' and David saith, ' I hate every false way/ Ps.
cxix. True hatred is ek ra yevrj^ to the whole kind. When we
hate sin as sin, we hate all sin. The heart is most sincere when the
hatred is general. The least sin is dangerous, and in its own nature
deadly and destructive. Caesar was stabbed with bodkins. We read
of some that have been devoured of wild beasts, lions and bears ; but
of others that have been eaten up of vermin, mice, or lice. Pope
Adrian was choked with a gnat. The least sins may undo you. You
know what Christ speaketh of a little leaven. Do not neglect the
least sins, or excuse yourselves in any Rimmon. Carry out yourselves
against all known sins, and pray as he, Job xxxiv. 32, ' That which

1 Arist. Khet. in Pass. od.

148 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 21.

I see not, teach thou me ; if I have done iniquity, I will do so no
more.'

Obs. 5. From that word fiWiiness. Sin is filthiness ; it snllieth the
glory and beauty of the soul, defaceth the image of God. This
expression is often used, ' Filthiness of flesh and spirit/ 2 Cor. vii.
1, where not only gross wickedness, such as proceedeth from fleshly
and brutish lusts, is called filthiness, but such as is more spiritual,
unbelief, heresy, or misbelief, &c., nay, original corruption is called
so : Job xiv. 4, ' Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? '
so Job xv. 14, ' How can man be clean ? ' Nay, things glorious in
the eyes of men. Duties they are called dung, because of the iniquity
that is found in them : Mai. ii. 3, * I will spread dung upon your
faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts/ So it was in God's eyes.
The Spirit of God everywhere useth comparisons taken from things
that are most odious, that our hearts may be wrought into the greater
detestation of sin. Certainly they are much mistaken that think sin
an ornament, when the Spirit of God calleth it dung and excrement.
But more especially I find three sins called filthiness in scripture : —
(1.) Covetousness, because it debaseth the spirit of man, and maketh
him stoop to such indecencies as are beneath humanity ; so it is
said, ' filthy lucre/ 1 Peter v. 2. (2.) Lust, which in scripture
dialect is called filthiness, or the sin of unclearmess, 1 Thes. iv. 7,
because it maketh a man to subject or submit his desires to the
beasts' happiness, which is sensual pleasures. (3.) In this place,
anger and malice is called filthiness. We please ourselves in it, but
it is but filthiness ; it is brutish to yield to our rage and the turbulent
agitation of our spirits, and not to be able to withstand a provocation ;
it is worse than poison in toads or asps, or what may be conceived to
be most filthy in the creatures ; poison in them doth hurt others, it
cannot hurt themselves ; anger may not hurt others, it cannot choose but
hurt us. Well, then, all that hath been said is an engagement to us
to resist sin, to detest it as a defilement ; it will darken the glory of
our natures. There are some ' spots that are not as the spots of God's
children/ Deut. xxxii. 5. Oh ! let us get rid of these ' filthy garments/
Zech. iii. 4-6, and desire change of raiment, the righteousness of
Christ. Ay ! but there are some lesser sins that are spots too : ' The
garment spotted by the flesh/ Jude 23 ; unseemly words are called
'filthiness/ Eph. v. 4, and duties ' dung.'

Obs. 6. From that superfluity of wickedness. That there is abun
dance of wickedness to be purged out of the heart of man. Such a ful
ness as runneth over, a deluge of sin : Gen. vi. 5, ' All the imagina
tions of the heart are evil, only evil, and that continually ; ' it runneth
out into every thought, into every desire, into every purpose. As
there is saltness in every drop of the sea, and bitterness in every
branch of wormwood, so sin in everything that is framed within the
soul. Whatever an unclean person touched, though it were holy flesh,
it was unclean ; so all our actions are poisoned with it. Dan. ix. 27,
we read of ' the overspreading of abominations ; ' and David saith,
Ps. xiv., * They are all become vile, and gone out of the way ; ' all,
and all over. In the understanding there are filthy thoughts and
purposes ; there sin beginneth : fish stink first at the head. In the

JAS. I. 21.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 149

will filthy motions ; the affections mingle with filthy objects. The
memory, that should be like the ark, the chest of the law, retaineth,
like the grate of a sink, nothing but mud and filthiness. The con
science is defiled and stained with the impurities of our lives ; the
members are but instruments of filthiness. A rolling eye provoketh
a wanton fancy, and stirreth up unclean glances : 2 Peter ii. 14,

* Having eyes full of adultery ; ' in the original, //-ot^aX/So?, ' full of the
adulteress/ The tongue bewrayeth the rottenness of the heart in
filthy speaking. Oh ! what cause we have to bless God that there is
'a fountain opened for uncleanness,' Zech. xiii. 1. Certainly conver
sion is not an easy work, there is such a mass of corruption to be laid
aside.

Obs. 7. From that receive. Our duty in hearing the word is to
receive it. See places in the exposition. In the word there is the
hand of God's bounty, reaching out comfort and counsel to us ; and
there must be the hand of faith to receive it. In receiving there is an
act of the understanding, in apprehending the truth and musing upon
it. So Christ saith, Luke ix. 44, ' Let these sayings sink down into
your minds/ Let them not float in the fancy, but enter upon the
heart, as Solomon speaketh of wisdom's entering into the heart, Prov.
ii. 10. And there is an act of faith, the crediting and believing faculty
is stirred up to entertain it. So the apostle saith, ' mingled with faith
in the hearing/ Heb. iv. 2, that is, mingled with our heart, or closely
applied to our hearts. And there is an act of the will and affections
to embrace and lodge it in the soul, which is called somewhere ' a
receiving the truth in love/ when we make room for it, that carnal
affections and prejudices may not vomit and throw it up again. Christ
complaineth somewhere that ' his word had no place in them,' ov x^Pav
€%€i ev vp.lv, it cannot find any room, or be safely lodged in you ; but,
like a hot morsel or queasy bit, it was soon given up again.

Obs. 8. The word must be received with all meekness. Christ was
anointed to preach glad tidings to the meek, Isa. Ixi. 1. They have
most right in the gospel. The main business will be to show what
this meekness is. Consider its opposites. Since the fall graces are best
known by their contraries. It excludeth three things: — (1.) A wrath
ful fierceness, by which men rise in a rage against the word. When
they are admonished, they revile. Deep conviction provoketh many
times fierce opposition: Jer. vi. 10, ' The word of the Lord is to them a
reproach/ They think the minister raileth when he doth but discover
their guilt to them. (2.) A proud stubbornness, when men are resolved
to hold their own ; and though the premises fall before the word, yet
they maintain the conclusion : Jer. ii. 25, ' Kefrain thy foot from bare
ness, and thy throat from thirst ; ' that is, why will you trot to Egypt
for help, you will get nothing but bareness and thirst ; but they said,

* Strangers have we loved, and them will we follow ; ' that is, Say
what thou wilt, we will take our own way and course. So Jer. xliv.
16, 17, ' We will not hearken to thee, but will certainly do whatsoever
goeth out of our own mouth/ Men scorn to strike sail before the
truth, and though they cannot maintain an opposition, yet they will
continue it. (3.) A contentious wrangling, which is found in men of an
unsober wit, that scorn to captivate the pride of reason, and therefore

150 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 21.

stick to every shift. The psalmist saith, Ps. xxv. 8, 9, * He will teach
sinners the way. The meek he will guide in judgment ; the meek he
will teach his way.' Of all sinners, God taketh the meek sinner for
his scholar. There is difficulty enough in the scriptures to harden
the obstinate. Camero1 observeth that the scriptures are so penned
that they that have a mind to know may know ; and they that have a
mind to wrangle may take occasion enough of offence, and justly
perish by the rebellion of their own reason ; for, saith he, God never
meant to satisfy liominibm prcefracti mgenii, men of a stubborn and
perverse wit. And Tertullian2 had observed the same long before
him : that God had so disposed the scriptures, that they that will not
be satisfied might be hardened. Certain we are that our Saviour
Christ saith, Mark iv. 11, 12, that ' these things are done in parables,
that seeing they might not see, nor perceive and understand ;' that is,
for a just punishment of wilful blindness and hardness, that those that
would not see might not see. So elsewhere our Lord saith, that ' he
that will do the will of God shall know what doctrine is of God/ John
vii. 17. When the heart is meekened to obey a truth, the mind is
soon opened to conceive of it.

Secondly, My next work is to show what it includeth. (1.) Humi
lity and brokenness of spirit. There must be insection before insition,
meekness before ingrafting. Gospel revivings are for the contrite
heart, Isa. Ivii. 15. The broken heart is not only a tamed heart, but a
tender heart, and then the least touch of the word is felt : ' Those
that tremble at my word/ Isa. Ixvi. 2. (2.) Teachableness and tract-
ableness of spirit. There is an ingenuous as well as a culpable facility :
' The wisdom that is from above is gentle, and easy to be entreated/
James iii. 17. It is good to get a tractable frame. The servants of
God come with a mind to obey ; they do but wait for the discovery
of their duty : Acts x. 33, ' We are all here present before God, to
hear the things that are commanded thee of God/ They came not
with a mind to dispute, but practise. Oh ! consider, perverse opposi
tion will be your own ruin. It is said, Luke vii. 30, ' They rejected
the counsel of God/ but it was ' against themselves ;' that is, to their
own loss. So Acts xiii. 46, ' Ye put it from you, and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life/ Disputing against the word, it is a judging
yourselves ; it is as if, in effect, you should say, I care not for God,
nor all the tenders of grace and glory that he maketh to me.

Obs. 9. The word must not only be apprehended by us, but planted
in us. It is God's promise : Jer. xxxi. 33, ' I will put my laws in
their hearts, and write them in their inward parts ; ' that is, he will
enlighten our minds to the understanding of his will, and frame our
hearts and affections to the obedience of it, so that we shall not only
know duty, but have an inclination to it, which is the true ingrafting
of the word. Then ' the root of the matter is within us/ Job xix. 28 ;
that is, the comfort of God's promises rooted in the heart. So 1 John
iii. 9, ' His seed abideth in him ;' that is, the seed of the word planted
in the heart. Look to it, then, that the word be ingrafted in you, that

1 Camer, lib. de notis verbi Dei.

2 * Non periclitor dicere ipsas scripturas ita dispositas esse, ut materiam subministra-
rent hsereticis.'— Tertid.

JAS. I. 21.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 151

it do not fall like seed on the stony ground, so as it cannot take root.
You will know it thus: — (1.) If it be ingrafted, it will be ^6709 /cap-
7ro(t>opovijL€Vo$, ' a fruitful word/ Col. i. 6 ; it will spring up in your
conversation; the 'stalk of wickedness/ Ezek. vii. 11, will not grow so
much as the word. (2.) The graft draweth all the sap of the stock to
itself. All your affections, purposes, cares, thoughts, will serve the word :
Rom. vi. 17, el? ov 7rap€$66rjT€ TVTTOV 8^0/^775. They were delivered
over into the stamp and mould of the word that was delivered to
them. All affections and motions of the spirit are cast into the mould
of religion.

Obs. 10. That the word in God's hand is an instrument to save our
souls. It is sometimes called ' the word of truth/ at other times, ' the
word of life ;' the one noteth the quality of it, the other the fruit of
it. It is called ' the power of God/ Rom. i. 16, and 'the arm of the
Lord :' Isa. liii. 1, ' Who hath believed our report? to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed?' By our report God's arm is conveyed
into the soul. The use to which God hath deputed the word should
beget a reverence to it. The gospel is a saving word ; let us not
despise the simplicity of it. Gospel truths should not be too plain
for our mouths, or too stale for your ears. ' I am not ashamed of the
gospel/ saith the apostle, ' for it is the power of God to salvation.'

Obs. 11. That the main care of a Christian should be to save his
soul. This is propounded as an argument why we should hear the
word ; it will save your souls. Usually our greatest care is to gratify
the body. Solomon saith, ' All a man's labour is for the mouth ;' that
is, to support the body in a decent state. Oh ! but consider this is but
the worser part ; and who would trim the scabbard and let the sword
rust ? Man is in part an angel, and in part a beast. Why should
we please the beast in us, rather than the angel ? In short, your
greatest fear should be for the soul, and your greatest care should be
for the soul. Your greatest fear : Mat. x. 28, ' Fear not them that
can destroy the body, but fear him that can cast both body and soul
into hell fire.' There is a double argument. The body is but the
worser part, and the body is alone ; but on the other side, the soul is
the more noble part, and the state of the body dependeth upon the
well or ill being of the soul : he is ' able to cast both soul and body/
&c., and therefore it is the greatest imprudence in the world, out of a
fear of the body, to betray the soul. So your greatest care, riches and
splendour in the world, these are the conveniences of the body, and
what good will they do you, when you come to be laid in the cold
silent grave ? Mat. xvi. 26, * What profit hath a man, if he win the
whole world, and lose his own soul ? ' It is but a sorry exchange
that, to hazard the eternal welfare of the soul for a short fruition of
the world. So Job xxvii. 8, ' What is the hope of the hypocrite,
though he hath gained, when God taketh his soul ?' There is many
a carnal man that pursueth the world with a fruitless and vain
attempt ; they ' rise early, go to bed late, eat the bread of sorrows ; '
yet all will not do. But suppose they have gained and taken the prey
in hunting, yet what will it profit him when body and soul must
part, and though the body be decked, yet the soul must go into misery
and darkness, without any furniture and provision for another life ?

152 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 22.

what hope will his gain minister to him ? Oh ! that we were wise to
consider these things, that we would make it our work to provide for
the soul, to clothe the soul for another world, that we would wait upon
God in the word, that our souls may be furnished with every spiritual
and heavenly excellency, that we may not be ' found naked,' saitli the
apostle, 2 Cor. v. 3.

Obs. 12. That they that have received the word must receive it again :
though it were ingrafted in them, yet receive it that it may save your
souls. God hath deputed it to be a means not only of regeneration,
but salvation ; and therefore, till we come to heaven, we must use this
help. They that live above ordinances, do not live at all, spiritually,
graciously. Painted fire needeth no fuel. The word, though it be
an immortal seed, yet needeth constant care and watering. But of
this before.

Ver. 22. But be ye doers of the ivord, and not hearers only, deceiv
ing your own selves.

This verse catcheth hold of the heel of the former. He had spoken
of the fruit of the word, the salvation of the soul ; that it may be
obtained, he showeth that we should not only hear, but practise.

But be ye doers of the word; that is, real observers. There is a
sentence of Paul that, for sound, is like this, but is indeed quite to
another sense : Eom. ii. 13, ' For not the hearers of the law, but the
doers, are just before God.' Doer is there taken for one that satisfieth
the law, and fulfilleth it in every tittle ; for the apostle's drift is to
prove that the Jews, notwithstanding their privilege of having the
oracles of God committed to them, were never a whit the nearer j usti-
fication before God. But here, by doers are implied those that receive
the work of the word into their hearts, and express the effect of it in
their lives. There are three things which make a man a TTO^TT)?, a
doer of the word — faith, love, and obedience.

And not hearers only. — Some neither hear nor do ; others hear, but
they rest in it. Therefore the apostle doth not dissuade from hearing ;
* Hear/ saith he, but ' not only.'

Deceiving, TrapaXoyL&fjievoi. — The word is a term of art : it implieth
a sophistical argument or syllogism, which hath an appearance or
probability of truth, but is false in matter or form ; and is put by the
apostle to imply those false discourses which are in the consciences of
men. Paul useth the same word to imply that deceit which men
impose upon others by colourable persuasions : Col. ii. 4, ' Let no
man TrapdXoyify, deceive you with enticing words.'

Your own selves. — The argument receiveth force from these words.
If a man would baffle other men, he would not put a paralogism upon
himself, deceive himself in a matter of so great consequence. Or
else it may be a monition ; you deceive yourselves, but you cannot
deceive God.

The notes are : —

Obs. l.^That hearing is good, but should not be rested in. The
apostle saith, ' Be not hearers only.' Many go from sermon to sermon,
hear much, but do not digest it in their thoughts. The Jews were much
in turning over the leaves of 'the scriptures, but did not weigh the matter
of them: therefore I suppose our Saviour reproveth them, John v/39,

JAS. I. 22.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 153

' You search the scriptures.' That epevvare there seemeth to he
indicative, rather than imperative, especially since it followeth, ' for
in them ye think to have eternal life.' They thought it was enough
to be busy in the letter of the scripture, and that bare reading would
yield them eternal life : so do others rest in hearing. They that stay
in the means are like a foolish workman, that contenteth himself with
the having of tools. It is a sad description of some foolish women,
2 Tim. iii. 7, that they are ' ever learning, and never coming to the
knowledge of the truth/ Much hearing will increase our judgment,
if there be not a lively impression upon our hearts. The heart of
man is so sottish, that they content themselves with the bare pre
sence of the ordinances in their place ; it is satisfaction enough that
they * have aLevite to their priest/ Judges xvii. 13. Others content
themselves with their bare presence at the ordinances, though they
do not feel the power of them.

01)s. 2. That the doers of the word are the best hearers. That is
good when we hear things that are to be done, and do things that are
to be heard. That knowledge is best which is most practical, and
that hearing is best which endeth in practice. David saith, Ps. cxix.
105, ' Thy word is a lantern to my feet, and a light to my steps.'
That is light indeed which directeth you in your paths and ways.
Mat. vii. 24, ' He that heareth my words, and doeth them, I will liken
him to a wise builder.' That is wisdom, to come to the word so as we
may go away the better. Divers hearers propound other ends. Some
come to the word that they may judge it ; the pulpit, which is God's
tribunal, is their bar ; they come hither to sit judges of men's gifts
and parts : James iv. 11, ' Thou art not a doer of the law, but a
judge.' Others come to hear pleasing things, to delight themselves in
the elegancy of speech, rarity of conceits, what is finely couched and
ordered, not what is proper to their case. This is not an act of religion
so much as curiosity, for they coine to a sermon with the same mind
they would to a comedy or tragedy ; the utmost that can be gained
from them is commendation and praise : Ezek. xxxiii. 32, ' Thou art
to them as a lovely song, or one that hath a pleasant voice ; but they
hear thy words, and do them not:' they were taken with the tinkling
and tunableness of the expressions, but did not regard the heavenly
matter. So, that fond woman suddenly breaketh out into a commen
dation of our Lord, but, it seemeth, regarded the person more than the
doctrine : Luke xi. 27, ' Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the
paps that gave thee suck ; ' for which our Saviour correcteth her in the
next verse, ' Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God,
and keep it.' You are mistaken ; the end of preaching is not to exalt
men, but God. You will say An excellent sermon 1 But what do you
gain by it ? The hearer's life is the preacher's best commendation, 2
Cor. iii. 1 , 2. They that praise the man but do not practise the
matter, are like those that taste wines that they may commend them,
not buy them. Others come that they may better their parts, and
increase their knowledge. Every one desireth to know more than
another, to set up themselves ; they do so much excel others as they
excel them in knowledge : and therefore we are all for notions and
head-light, little for that wisdom that ' entereth upon the heart/

154 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 22.

Prov. ii. 10, and serveth to better the life ; like children in the
rickets, that have big heads but weak joints : this is the disease of
this age. There is a great deal of curious knowledge, airy notions,
but practical saving truths are antiquated and out of date. Seneca
observed of the philosophers, that when they grew more learned they
were less moral.1 And generally we find now a great decay of zeal,
with the growth of notion and knowledge, as if the waters of the
sanctuary had put out the fire of the sanctuary, and men could not be
at the same time learned and holy. Others hear that they may say
they have heard ; conscience would not be pacified without some
worship : * They come as my people use to do/ Ezek. xxxiii. 31 ; that
is, according to the fashion of the age. Duties by many are used as a
sleepy sop to allay the rage of conscience.

The true use of ordinances is to come that we may profit. Usually
men speed according to their aim and expectation : ' Desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby/ 1 Peter ii. 2. So David
professeth his aim, Ps. cxix. 11, ' Thy word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee/ The mind, like the ark, should be
the chest of the law, that we may know what to do in every case, and
that truths may be always present with us, as Christians find it a
great advantage to have truths ready and present, to talk with them
upon all occasions, Prov. vi. 21, 22. Oh! it is sweet when we and
our reins can confer together, Ps. xvi. 7.

If you cannot find present profit in what you hear, consider how it
may be useful kfor you to the future. Things I confess are not so
acceptable when they do not reach the present case ; but they have
their season, and if come to you, you may bless G-od that ever you
were acquainted with them : Isa. xlii. 23, ' Who will hearken and
hear for the time to come ? ' You may be under terrors, and under
miseries, and then one of these truths will be exceeding refreshing ; or
you may be liable to such or such snares when you come to be engaged
in the world, or versed in such employments, therefore treasure up
every truth of God : provision argueth wisdom ; it may concern you
in time. Jer. x. 11, the prophet teacheth them how they should
defend their religion in Babylon; therefore that sentence is in Chaldee,
that he might put words in their mouths, against they came to con
verse with the Chaldeans : ' Thus shall ye say to them, The gods that
made not the heavens and the earth, they shall perish from the earth/
It is good to provide for Babylon whiles we are in Sion, and not to
reject truths as not pertinent to our case, but to reserve them for
future use and profit.

Obs. 3. From that irapaXoyitpjjbevoL Do not cheat yourselves with
a fallacy or false argument. Observe, that self-deceit is founded in
some false argumentation or reasoning. Conscience supplieth three
offices — of a rule, a witness, and a judge ; and so accordingly the act
of conscience is threefold. There is a-vvrrjprjtw, or a right apprehen
sion ^of the principles of religion ; so conscience is a rule : there is
ffwe&qo-ts, a sense of our actions compared with the rule or known
will of God, or a testimony concerning the proportion or disproportion
that our actions bear with the word : then, lastly, there is tcpum, or

1 ' Boni esse desierunt simul ac docti evaserint.' — Seneca.

JAB. I. 22.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 155

judgment, by which a man applieth to himself those rules of Chris
tianity which concern his fact or state. All these acts of conscience
may be reduced into a syllogism or argument. As for instance : he
that is wholly carnal hath no interest in Christ ; there is the first act,
knowledge : but I am wholly carnal ; there is the second act, con
science : therefore I have no interest in Christ ; there is the third act,
judgment. The first act of conscience maketh the proposition, the
second the assumption, the third the conclusion. Now all self-deceit
is in one of these ; propositions. Sometimes conscience is out as a law in
the very principles ; sometimes as a witness in the assumption ; some
times as a judge it suspendeth and hideth the conclusion. Sometimes,
I say, it faileth as a law, by making an erroneous principle to be the
bottom of a strong hope ; as here, the principle is naught : ' They that
hear the word shall be saved.' At other times it erreth in the appli
cation of the rule ; as 1 John i. 6, ' If we say that we have fellowship
with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth ;' so 1
John ii. 4. The principle was right, ' They that have communion with
God are happy ;' but ' We have communion with God/ that was false,
because they walked in darkness. So as a judge it doth not pass sen
tence, but out of self-love forbeareth to judge of the quality of the
action or state, that the soul may not be affrightened with the danger
of it. You see the deceit ; how shall we help it ? I answer severally
to all these acts and parts of conscience :—

First, That you may build upon right principles: — (1.) It is good
to ' hide the word in our hearts/ and to store the soul with sound
knowledge, and that will always rise up against vain hopes ; as he that
would get weeds destroyed must plant the ground with contrary seeds.
When there is much knowledge, your own reins will chasten you ;
and those sound principles will be talking to you, and speaking
by way of check and denial to your sudden and rash presumptions :
' Bind the law to thine heart, and when thou wakest it shall talk to
thee/ Prov. vi. 22. (2.) In the witnessing of conscience observe the
reason of it, and let the principle be always in sight : do not credit a
single testimony without a clear rule or positive ground. . A corrupt
conscience usually giveth in a bare report, because the grounds are
so slender and insufficient that they come least in sight ; for upon a
trial conscience would be ashamed of them : as, for instance, this is
the report of conscience, Sure I am in a good condition : now ask
why ? and the conscience will be ashamed of the paralogism in the
text — I hear the word, make much of good ministers, &c. And yet
this is the secret and inward thought of most men, upon which they
build all their hopes ; whereas true grounds are open and clear, and
are urged together with the report, and so beget a firm and steady
confidence in the spirit; as 1 John ii. 3, ' Hereby we are sure we know
him/ that is, enjoy him, have communion with him ; for knowing
there is knowing him by sense and experience. Now whence did this
confidence arise ? You shall see from an open and clear ground : We
are sure (saith he) because 'We keep his commandments/ (3.) The
grounds upon which conscience goeth should be full and positive.
There are three sorts of marks laid down in scripture : some are only
exclusive, others inclusive : and between these a middle sort of marks,

156 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 22.

which I may call positive. For exclusive marks, their intent is to deceive
<i false hope, or to shut out bold pretenders, by showing them how far
they come short of an interest in Christ; and usually they are taken from
a necessary common work, as hearing the word, praying in secret,
attendance upon the ordinances ; he that doth not these things is cer
tainly none of God's : but in case he doth them, he cannot conclude his
estate to be gracious. It is the paralogism mentioned in the text, to reason
from negative marks and the common works of Christianity. It is
true, all go not so far ; therefore Athanasius wished utinam omnes
essent liypocritcv — would to God that all were hypocrites, and could un
dergo the trial of these exclusive marks. All are not diligent hearers ;
but, however, it is not safe to be hearers only. But, then, there are other
marks which are inclusive, which are laid down to show the measures and
degrees of grace, and are rather intended for comfort than conviction,
which, if they are found in us, we are safe, and in the state of grace ;
but if not, we cannot conclude a nullity of grace. Thus faith is often
described by such effects as are proper to the radiancy and eminent
degree of it, and promises are made to such or such raised operations
of other graces. The use of these notes is to comfort, or to convince
of want of growth. But, again, there is a middle sort of marks
between both these, which I call positive ; and they are such as are
always and only found in a heart truly gracious, because they are
such as necessarily infer the inhabitation of the Spirit, and are there
where grace is at the lowest. Such the apostle calleth ra e^o^em
T>}? crwTTjpias, Heb. vi. 9, ' Things that accompany salvation ,' or
which necessarily have salvation in them, the sure symptoms of a
blessed estate. He had spoken before of a common work, enlightening,
and slight tastes and feelings, ver. 4-6. But, saith he, ' We are per
suaded better things of you,' and that you have those necessary evidences
to which salvation is infallibly annexed. Now, these must be by great
care collected out of the word, that we may be sure the foundation and
principle is right.

Secondly, That conscience as a witness may not fail you, take these
rules : — (1.) Note the natural and first report of it ere art hath passed
upon it. Sudden and indeliberate checks at the word, or in prayer,
being the immediate births of conscience, have the less of deceit in
them. I have observed that the deceitfulness that is in a wicked man'fe
heart is not so much in the testimony itself of his conscience, as in
the many shifts and evasions he useth to avoid the sense of it. Every
sinner's heart doth reproach and condemn him ; but all their art is
how to choke this testimony, or slight it. You know the apostle John
referreth the whole decision of all doubts concerning our estate to con
science, 1 John iii. 20, 21. For certainly the first voice of conscience
is genuine and unfeigned ; for it being privy to all our actions, cannot
but give a testimony concerning them ; only we elude it. And there
fore let wicked men pretend what peace they will, their consciences
witness rightly to them ; and were it not for those sleights by which
they put it off, they might soon discern their estate. The apostle
saith, they are ' all their lifetime subject to bondage/ Heb. ii. 15.
They have a wound and torment within them, which is not always
felt, but soon awakened, if they were true to themselves. The arti-

JAS. I. 22.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 157

ficial and second report of conscience is deceitful and partial, when
it hath been flattered or choked with some carnal sophisms and
principles. But the first and native report, which of a sudden pinch-
eth like a stitch in the side, is true and faithful. (2.) Wait upon the
word. One main use of it is to help conscience in witnessing, and
to bring us and our hearts acquainted with one another : Heb. iv.
12, ' The word is quick and powerful, a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart;' it revealeth all those plots and dis
guises by which we would hide our actions from our own privity
and conscience. He saith there, it ' divideth between soul and spirit.'
The soul cleaveth to sin, and the spirit, or mind, plotteth pretences
to hide it ; but the word discovereth all this self-deceiving sophistry.
So 1 Cor. xiv. 25, ' The secrets of his heart are made manifest : ' that
is, to himself, by the conviction of the word. (3.) Ascite conscience,
and call it often into the presence of God : 1 Peter iii. 21, ' The
answer of a good conscience towards God.' Will it witness thus to the
all-seeing God ? When Peter's sincerity was questioned he appeal eth to
Christ's omnisciency : John xxi. 17, 'Lord, thou knowest all things,
and thou knowest that I love thee/ Can you appeal to God's omni
sciency, and assure your hearts before him ? So 1 John iii. 20, ' If
our hearts condemn us, God is greater than conscience, and knoweth
all things.' God's omnisciency is there mentioned, because that is the
solemn attribute to which conscience appealeth in all her verdicts,
which are the more valid when they can be avowed before the God
that knoweth all things.

Thirdly, That conscience may do its office as a judge, you must do
this : — (1.) When conscience is silent, suspect it ; it is naught ; we are
careless, and our heart is grown senseless and stupid with pleasures.
A dead sea is worse than a raging sea. It is not a calm this, but a
death. A tender conscience is always witnessing ; and therefore, when
it never saith, What have I done ? it is a sign it is seared. Tkere is
a continual parley between a godly man and his conscience ; it is either
suggesting a duty, or humbling for defects ; it is their daily exercise
to judge themselves. As God after every day's work reviewed it, and
'saw that it was good,' Gen. i, so they review each day, and judge of
the actions of it. (2.) If conscience do not speak to you, you must
speak to conscience. David biddeth insolent men, Ps. iv. 4, to ' com
mune with their hearts, and be still.' Take time to parley, and speak
with yourselves. The prophet complaineth, Jer. viii. 6, ' No man
asketh himself, What have I done ? ' There should be a time to ask
questions of our own souls. (3.) Upon every doubt bring things to
some issue and certainty. Conscience will sometimes lisp out half a
word. Draw it to a full conviction. Nothing maketh the work of
grace so doubtful and litigious as this, that Christians content them
selves with semi- persuasions, and do not get the case fully cleared one
way or another. The Spirit delighteth in a full and plenary convic
tion : John xvi. 8, eXeyfet, ' He shall convince the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment.' Conviction is a term of art ; it is
done when things are laid down so clearly that we see it is impossible
it should be otherwise.1 Now this the Spirit doth, whether it be in a

1 ' Td /XT? dwarov fiXXws Zx.eiv> «^' forus u>s ^ue?s X^o/ier,' &c. — Arist. Org.

158 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 23, 24.

state of sin or righteousness. God saith he would deal with his
people so roundly, ' that they might remember, and not open their
mouth any more for shame/ Ezek. xvi. 63 ; that is, leave them so
convinced, that they might not have a word to say but ' Unclean ! un
clean ! ' It is good upon every doubt to follow it so close that it may
be brought to a certain and determinate issue.

Obs. 4. That men are easily deceived into a good opinion of them
selves by their bare hearing. We are apt to pitch upon the good that is
in any action, and not to consider the evil of it : I am a hearer of the
word, and therefore I am in a good case. Christ's similitude implieth
that men build upon their hearing, and make it the foundation of their
hopes, Mat. vii. 24, to the end. Watch over this deceit ; such a
weighty structure should not be raised upon so sandy a foundation.
(1.) Consider the danger of such a self-deceit : hearing without
practice draweth the greater judgment upon you. Uriah carried
letters to Joab, and he thought the contents were for his honour and
preferment in the army, but it was but the message of his own destruc
tion. We hear many sermons, and think to come and urge this to
God ; but out of those sermons will God condemn us. (2.) Consider
how far hypocrites may go in this matter. They may sever themselves
from following errors, and hear the word constantly: Luke vi. 47,
' Whosoever cometh to me,' &c. They may approve of the good way,
and applaud it : ' Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps that
gave thee suck,' &c., Luke xi. 27, 28. They may hold out a great
deal of glavering and false affection : Luke vi. 46, ' Why call ye me
Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say ? ' They may be en
dowed with church gifts of prophecy and miracles, be able to talk and
discourse savourily of the things of God, do much for the edification of
others : ' Many will say to me in that day,' &c., Mat. vii. 22. They
may have a vain persuasion of their faith and interest in Christ : they
will say, ' Lord, Lord/ Mat. vii. 21. They may make some progress
in obedience, abstain from grosser sins, and things publicly odious :
' Herod did many things,' Mark vi. ; and Christ saith, ' Every tree that
bringeth not forth good fruit/ &c., Mat. vii. 19. There must be some
thing positive. There may be some external conformity ; ay ! but
there is no effectual change made ; ' the tree is not good/ Mat. vii. 18.
Well, therefore, outward duties with partial reformation will not serve
the turn. (3.) Consider the easiness of deceit : Jer. xvii. 9, ' The
heart of man is deceitful above all things ; who can find it out ? '
Who can trace and unravel the mystery of iniquity that is in the soul ?
Since we lost our uprightness we have many inventions, Eccles. vii. 29,
shifts and wiles whereby to avoid the stroke of conscience : they are
called, Prov. xx. 27, ' the depths of the belly.' Look, as in the belly
the inwards are folded, and rolled up within one another, so are there
turnings and crafty devices in the heart of man.

Yer. 23, 24, For if any be a hearer of the ivord, and not a doer,
he is like to a man beholding his natural face in a glass : for he be-
holdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was.

Here James amplifieth the former reason, which was taken from
the vanity and unprofitableness of bare hearing, by a similitude taken
from a man looking in a glass.

JAS. I. 23, 24.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 159

If any be a hearer of the luord and not a doer ; that is, contenteth
himself with bare hearing, or bare knowing the word of God, and doth
not come away with impulses of zeal, and resolutions of obedience.

Is like a man : — In the original it is dvSpl, a word proper to the
masculine sex, and therefore some frame a criticism. The apostle
doth not say, ' like a woman / they are more diligent and curious.
They view themselves again and again, that they may do away every
spot and deformity. But this is more witty than solid. The apostle
useth av^p promiscuously for man and woman, as ver. 12, ' Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation,' the man or woman : only the
masculine sex is specified, as most worthy.

That beholdeth his natural face, TO irpoa-aTrov TJ}? yevecrca)?, l the
face of his nativity.' — What is intended by that ? Some say, the face
as God made it at its birth, that he may behold God's work in it, and
so take occasion to condemn painting, and the artificial cerusse and
varnish of the face ; or his natural face, upon which men bestow least
care. In painting, there is more exactness : or natural face, as import
ing a glance, as a man passeth by a glass, and seeth that he hath the
face of a man, not exactly surveying the several lineaments. Others
think the apostle hinteth the thing intended by the similitude — our
natural and original deformity — represented in the words, and that he
complicateth and foldeth up the thing signified with the expressions
of the similitude ; but that seemeth forced. I suppose, by ' natural
face/ he meaneth his own face, the glass representing the very face
which nature gave him.

He goeth his ivay, and straightway for getteth ivhat manner of man
he was. — He forgetteth the fashion of his countenance, the spots re
presented therein, and so fitly noteth those weak impressions which
the discoveries of the word leave upon a careless soul, who, after his
deformity is represented, is not affected with it so as to be brought to
repentance.

The notes are these : —

01)s. 1. That the word of God is a glass. But what doth it show
us ? I answer— (1.) God and Christ : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all with an
open face behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and are changed
into the same image from glory to glory/ A glass implieth the clear
est representation that we are capable of here upon earth. I confess
a glass is sometimes put for a dark vision ; as 1 Cor. xiii. 12, ' Now
we see but as in a glass, darkly ; but then we shall see face to face/
Then we shall see God himself : 1 John iii. 2, ' We shall see God as
he is.' But here we have his image and reflection in the word : as
sometimes the ' heart of flesh' is put for an earthly mind, sometimes
for a tender heart. In opposition to ' a heart of stone,' the ' heart of
flesh' is taken in a good sense ; but, in opposition to pure and sublime
affections, in a bad sense. So, in opposition to the shadows of the law,
seeing in a glass importeth a clear discerning ; but in opposition to
* face to face/ but a low and weak conception of the essence of God.
Oh ! study the glory of God in the word. Though you cannot exhaust
and draw out all the divine perfections in your thoughts, yet ' your
ear may receive a little thereof,' Job iv. 11. When we want the sun,
we do not despise a candle. (2.) The word is a glass to show us our-

160 AN EXPOSITION. WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 23, 24.

selves ; it discovereth the hidden things 'of the heart, all the deformi
ties of the soul : Mark iv. 22, ' There is nothing hidden that shall not
be made manifest.' The word discovereth all things. Our sins are
the spots which the law discovereth ; Christ's blood is the water to
wash them off, and that is discovered in the gospel.* The law dis
covereth sins : Kom. vii. 9, ' I was alive without the law, but when
the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.' We think ourselves
well and in a good case, till the law falleth upon the spirit with full
conviction, and then we see all the spots and freckles of our souls.
The gospel discovereth how we may do away our sins, and deck and
attire our souls with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Use. It ministereth a meditation to you. When you are at your
glass, consider the word of God is a glass : I must look after the estate
and complexion of my soul. Take but a part of the law and exercise
yourself with it every day, and you will soon see the deformity of your
own spirit : do not look in a flattering glass. We love a picture that
is like us, rather than that which is flourished and varnished with
more art.

0~bs. 2. That the knowledge of formal professors is but slight and
glancing : like a man beholding his face in a glass, or like the glaring
of a sunbeam upon a wave, it rusheth into the thoughts, and it is
gone. The beast under the law that did not chew the cud was unclean.
There is much in meditation and a constant light. Some men, if
they should be considerate, would undo all their false hopes ; therefore,
usually, carnal men's thoughts are but slight and trivial ; they know
things, but are loath to let their thoughts pause upon them : Luke ii.5
it is said, 4 Mary pondered all these sayings.' A slippery, vain, incon
sistent mind will be hardly held to truths. When we apprehend a
thing, curiosity being satisfied, we begin to loathe it ; and, therefore, it is
an hard matter to agitate the thoughts again to that point to which they
have once arrived ; the first apprehension doth, as it were, deflower it.
Obs. 3. Vain men go from the ordinances just as they came to
them : he beholdeth, and goeth away. Like the beasts in Noah's ark,
they went in unclean, and came out unclean. So many come un-
humbled and unmortified, and so they go away. Oh ! let it never be
said of you.

Ols. 4. Slight apprehensions make a very weak impression : things
work when the thoughts are serious and ponderous : musing maketh
the fire burn, Ps. xxxix. 3. When God's arrows stick fast, they
make us roar to the purpose, Job vi. 4. And David, when he would
express his deep affection, he saith, Ps. li. 3, ' My sin is ever before
me: 'jit would not out of his thoughts. Well, then, a weak impres
sion is an argument of a slight apprehension : thoughts always follow
affection. They that ' heal their wounds slightly,' Jer. vi. 14, show
that they were never soundly touched and pricked at heart. Men
thoroughly affected say— I shall remember such a sermon all my life
time. David saith, Ps. cxix. 93, * I will never forget thy precepts ;
for by them thou hast quickened me.' Others let good things slip,
because they never felt the power of them.

1 'Maculae sunt peccata qua ostendit lex ; aqua est sanguie Christ! quem ostendit
evangelium.'

JAS. I. 25.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 161

Ver. 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

In this verse you have the third reason why they should hear the
word so as to practise it. The first was, they would but deceive
themselves, and go away with a vain mistake. The next, that bare
hearing would be of little benefit ; no more than for a man to glance
his eye upon a glass, and to have a slight view of his countenance.
And now, because due and right hearing will end in blessedness. This
verse is full of matter. I shall drop it out as the order of the words
yieldeth it.

But whoso looketh, 6 Be irapaKvtyas : a metaphor taken from those
that do not only glance upon a thing, but bend their body towards it,
that they may pierce it with their eyes, and narrowly pry into it.
The same word is used for the stooping down of the disciples to look
into Christ's sepulchre, Luke xxiv. 12, and John xx. 4, 5, and that
narrow search which the angels use to find out the mysteries of sal
vation : 1 Peter i. 12, ' Which things the angels desire to look into ; '
where there is a plain allusion to the cherubim whose faces were
bowed down towards the ark, as desirous to see the mysteries therein
contained. The word implieth three things : — (1.) Deepness of
meditation. He doth not glance upon, but ' look into the perfect law
of liberty.' (2.) Diligence of inquiry ; they do not content themselves
with what is offered to their first thoughts, but accurately pry into the
mind of God revealed in the word. (3.) Liveliness of impression : they
do so look upon it as to find the virtue of it in their hearts : 2 Cor. iii.
18, c We, with open face beholding the glory of the Lord as in a
glass, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.' Such a
gaze as bringeth the glory of the Lord into our hearts, as Moses' face
shone by talking with God ; and we, by conversing with the word,
carry away the beauty and glory of it in our spirits.

Into the perfect law. — Some understand the moral law, in opposition
to the ceremonial, as not being clear and full, and not able to justify,
though men rested in the observances of it ; and not perfect, because
not durable, and was not to remain for ever. Thus Heb. vii. 19,
1 The law made nothing perfect, but only the bringing in of a better
hope.' A man could not be sanctified, justified, saved, without Christ,
by the dispensation of Moses. So Heb. ix. 9, ' That service could not
make the comer thereunto perfect, as appertaining to the conscience/
The soul could find no ease and rest in it without looking to Christ.
But though this sense be probable, yet I rather understand the whole
doctrine and word of God, and chiefly the gospel. The will of God in
scripture is called a law. So a godly man is said to ' meditate uii the
law day and night,' Ps. i. ; and ' thy law do I love,' Ps. cxix., where by
law is understood the whole word ; and the gospel is called VO/JLO?
TriVreo)?, ' the law of faith,' Kom. iii. 27. Now this law is said to be
perfect, because it is so formally in itself, and they that look into it will
see that there needeth no other word to make the man of God perfect.

Of liberty. — It is so called, partly because of the clearness of
revelation : it is the counsel of God to his friends ; or, saith Piscator,
because it spareth none, but dealeth with all freely, without respect of

VOL. IV. L

162 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 25.

persons, though they be higher, richer, stronger than others ; but
rather because it calleth us into a state of freedom. See other reasons
in the notes.

And continuetli therein; that is, persevereth in the study of this
holy doctrine, and remaineth in the knowledge, belief, and obedience
of it.

He being not a forgetful hearer, a/cpoarrjs 7% eTriXrjo-fjiovTJs, ( a
hearer of oblivion,' a Hebraism ; and he useth this term to answer
the former similitude of a man's forgetting his natural face.

But a doer of the work ; that is, laboureth to refer and bring all
things to practice. He is said to be a doer that studieth to do, though
his hand doth not reach to the perfectness of the work ; that is, mind
ful of the business cut out to him in the word.

He shall be blessed in his deed; that is, so behaving himself, or
so doing ; or, as some more generally, he shall be blessed in all his
ways, whatsoever he doth shall be prosperous and happy. For they
conceive it to be an allusion to the words of the 1st Psalm, ver. 3,
' Whatsoever he shall do shall prosper : ' for the psalmist speaketh
there of doing the law, and meditating in the law, as James speaketh
here of looking into the law of liberty, and walking in it. But here the
Papists come upon us, and say — Lo ! here is a clear place that we are
blessed for our deeds. But I answer — It is good to mark the distinct
ness of scripture phrase : the apostle doth not say for, but in his
deed. It is an argument or evidence of our blessedness, though not
the ground of it ; the way, though not the cause.

The points are these :—

Obs. 1. From that he looJceth. That we should with all serious
ness and earnestness apply ourselves to the knowledge of the gospel.
There should be deep meditation and diligent inquiry. Your first
duty, Christians, is to admit the word into your serious thoughts : Ps.
i. 2, ' He meclitateth in the law day and night.' We should always
be chewing and sucking out the sweetness of this cud : Ps. xlv. 1,
' My heart inditeth a good matter.' The word in the original signi-
fieth baketh or frieth ; it is an allusion to the mincah, or meat-offering,
that was baked and fried in a pan. Truths are concocted and ripened
by meditation. And then there must be diligent inquiry, that we may
not content ourselves with the surface of truth, but get into the bowels
of it : 1 Peter i. 10, ' Of which salvation the prophets have inquired
diligently.' Though they had a more immediate assistance of the
Spirit, yet they would more accurately look into the depths and mys
teries of the gospel, and consider their own prophecies : Prov. ii. 4,
' Search for wisdom as for hidden treasures.' Jewels do not lie upon
the surface ; you must get into the caverns and dark receptacles of the
earth for them. No more do truths lie in the surface or outside of an
expression. The beauty and glory of the scriptures is within, and
must be fetched out with much study and prayer. A glance cannot
discover the worth of anything to us. He that doth but cast his eye
upon a piece of embroidery, doth not discern the curiousness and the
art of it. So to know Christ in the bulk doth not work half so kindly
with us as when we search out the breadth, and the depth, and the
length, the exact dimensions of his love to us.

JAS. I. 25.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 163

Obs. 2. The gospel is a law. It is often invested with this title and
appellation : Kom. viii. 2, ' The law of the Spirit of the life of Jesus
Christ hath made us free from the law of sin and death/ The covenant
of works is there called ' the law of sin and death/ because the use of
it to man fallen is to convince of sin, and to oblige and bind over to
death. But the gospel, or covenant of grace, is called the law of the
Spirit of the life of Christ, because the intent of it is, by faith, to plant
us into Christ, whose life we are enabled to live by the Spirit ; and it
is called ' the law of this life/ because everything that concurreth in
the right constitution and making of a law is found in the gospel : —
As (1.) Equity, without which a law is but tyranny. All the precepts
of the gospel are just and equal, most proportionate to the dignity of
man's nature : it is holy, good, and comfortable. (2.) There is
promulgation, which is the life and form of the law, and without which
it were but a private snare to catch men and entrap them. Now it is
' proclaimed to the captives/ Isa. Ixi. 1 ; it must be ' preached to every
creature/ Mark xvi. (3.) The author, without which it were sedi
tion — God, who can prescribe to the creature. (4.) The end, public
good, without which a law were tyrannous exaction ; and the end is
the salvation of our souls. Well, then, look upon the gospel as a law
and rule, according to which —(1st.) Your lives must be conformed :
' Peace on them that walk according to this rule/ Gal. vi. 16 ; that is,
the directions of the gospel. (2d.) All controversies and doctrines
must be decided : ' To the law and the testimony ; if they speak not
according to this rule, it is because there is no light in them/ Isa. viii.
20. (3d.) Your estates must be judged : ' God will judge the secrets
of all men, according to my gospel/ Kom. ii. 16. The whole word
carrieth the face of a law, according to which you shall be judged ;
nay, the gospel itself is a law, partly as it is a rule, partly because of
the commanding prevailing power it hath over the heart. So it is
' the law of the Spirit of life ; ' so that they that are in Christ are
not without a law, not avopoi, but evvofjioi. So the apostle, 1 Cor.
ix. 21, ' I am not without the law, but under the law to Christ ; '
that is, under the rule and direction of the moral law, as adopted
and taken in as a part of the gospel by Christ.

Obs. 3. The word of God is a perfect law. So it is in divers respects.
(1.) Because it maketh perfect. The nearer we come to the word, the
greater is the perfection and accomplishment of our spirits. The
goodness and excellency of the creature lieth in the nearest conformity
to God's will. (2.) It directeth us to the greatest perfection, to God
blessed for ever, to the righteousness of Christ, to perfect communion
with God in glory. (3.) It concerneth the whole man, and hath a force
upon the conscience : men go no further than outward obedience ; but
c the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul/ Ps. xix. 7. 'It is
not a lame, defective rule ; besides outward observances, there is some
what for the soul. (4.) It is a perfect law, because of the invariable
tenor of it ; it needeth not to be changed, but is always like itself :
as we say, that is a perfect rule that needeth no amendment. (5.) It
is pure, and free from error. There are no laws of men but there are
some blemish in them. Of old, wickedness was enacted by a law1 —

1 Osorius de Glor., lib. i.

164 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 25.

adultery : by a law of the Syrians, the virgins were to prostitute them
selves before marriage. So in the laws of every country there are
some marks of human error and frailty ; but, Ps. cxix. 140, ' Thy
word is pure, therefore thy servant loveth it.' (6.) Because it is a suf
ficient rule. Christ hath been ' faithful in all his house/ in all the
appointments of it. Whatever is necessary for knowledge, for regu
lating of life and worship, for confirmation of true doctrines, for
confutation of false, it is all in the word : 2 Tim. iii. 17, ' That the
man of God may be perfectly furnished unto every good work.' Well,
then — (1 .) Prize the word. We love what is perfect. (2.) Suffer nothing
to be added to it : Deut. iv., * Ye shall not add to the word which I
command you.' So the whole Bible is concluded : Kev. xxii. 18, ' If
any one add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that
are written in this book/ It will be a sad adding that incurreth these
plagues. The plagues written in that book were those dreadful judg
ments that should be executed upon Antichrist and his adherents ;
they are most for adding, coining new doctrines of faith, piecing up
the word with their own inventions. And, indeed, as they add, by
obtruding upon the world the traditions and usages of men, so others
add by imposing upon men's reverence their own inventions and ima
ginations. They cry up their fancies without the word, and private
illuminations. God would not leave the world at so great an uncer
tainty. Others urge the commands of men. Certainly God never
intended that the souls of his people should be left as a prey to the
present power.

01)s. 4. That the gospel, or word of God, is a ' law of liberty/ As
it is a perfect, so it is a free law. So it is in divers respects. (1.) Be
cause it teacheth the way to true liberty, and freedom from sin, wrath,
death. Naturally we are under the law of sin and death, entangled
with the yoke of our own corruptions, and bound over to eternal
misery ; but the gospel is a doctrine of liberty and deliverance :
John viii. 36, ' If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free
indeed.' There is no state so free as that which we enjoy by the
gospel. (2.) The bond of obedience that is laid upon us is indeed and
in truth a perfect freedom. For, —

1. The matter itself of our obedience is freedom.

2. We do it upon free principles.

3. We have the help of a free Spirit.

4. We do it in a state of freedom.

1. The matter is freedom. Duty is the greatest liberty, and sin the
greatest bondage. You cannot have a worse restraint than to be left
to ' walk in the ways of your own hearts.' The sinning angels are
said to be ' kept in chains of darkness/ Jude 6. A wicked man is in
bondage here and hereafter ; now in snares, then in chains ; here
1 taken captive by Satan at his will' and pleasure, 2 Tim. ii. 26, and
hereafter bound up with Satan in chains of darkness. Sin itself is a
bondage, and hell a prison, 1 Peter iii. 19. Were there nothing in
sin but the present slavery, it is enough to dissuade us. Who would
be a vassal to his own lusts? at the command of pride, and every
unclean motion ? But, alas ! the present thraldom is nothing to what
is future. The condition of a sinner for the present is servile, but

JAS. I. 25.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 165

hereafter woful and dreadful. Satan's work is drudgery, and his
reward is death, How can we remain in such an estate with any
pleasure ? From the beginning to the end it is but a miserable ser
vility. Why should we account Christ's service a burthen, when it is
the most happy liberty and freedom ? The world is all for ' casting
aside the cords, for breaking these bonds,' Ps. ii. 3. Which would
you have ? the cords of duty or the chains of darkness ? We cannot
endure the restraints of the word, or the severe, grave precepts of
Christianity ; we look upon them as an infringement of our carnal
ease and liberty. Oh ! consider these are not gyves, but ornaments : Ps.
cxix. 45, ' I shall walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts ;' beddachah,
1 at large/ That is the only free life that is spent in loving, enjoying,
and praising God. Oh ! do not count it, then, to be the only free and
pleasant life to know nothing, to care for nothing, in matters of reli-

fion. Who would dote upon his shackles, and think gyves a liberty ?
Peter ii. 19, ' While they promise themselves liberty, they themselves
are the servants of corruption ; for of whom a man is overcome, of the
same is he brought into bondage/ The apostle alludeth to the law of
nations, by which it is lawful to make slaves of those that are over
come and taken in war. Now those that preach carnal doctrine, and
tell men they may live as they list, they help on the victory of sin,
and so bring men into a vassalage and servitude to their own lusts.
So Kom. vi. 20, ' When ye were servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness/ You would expatiate, and run out at large, and you
thought this was a freedom ; but all the while you were servants, and
servants to the basest master, your own sin. It was Ham's curse to
be a servant of servants. It is a goodly preferment, is it not, to be
Satan's vassal, lust's slave? I remember Austin saith of Home,
that she was the great mistress of the world, and the drudge of sin.1
And Chrysostom saith, that Joseph was the freeman, and his mistress
was the servant, when she obeyed her lusts.2

2. We do it upon free principles. Whatever we do, we do it as

* the Lord's freemen/ 1 Cor. vii. 22, upon principles of love and
thankfulness. God might rule us 'with a rod of iron,' but he urgeth
the soul with ' constraints of love/ In one place, ' I beseech you by
the mercies of God/ &c., Kom. xii. 1 ; in another, ' Grace teacheth
us/ &c., Titus ii. 12. The motives of the gospel are mercy and grace ;
and the obedience of the gospel is an obedience performed out of
gratitude or thankfulness.

3. We have the assistance of a free Spirit, that disentangleth our
souls, and helpeth us in the work of obedience. David prayeth,

* Uphold me by thy free Spirit/ Ps. Ii. 12. A free Spirit, because he
maketh us free, helpeth us to serve God willingly and freely. There
is spirit and life in the commandment, somewhat besides a dead letter,
and that maketh it a ' perfect law of liberty/ Of old, there was light
in the commandment to guide their feet, but not fire to burn up their
lusts ; there was no help to fulfil it : the light was directive, but not
persuasive.

4. We do it in a free state, in an estate of sonship, and well pleas-

1 ' Domitrix gentium, et captiva vitiorum.' — A ug. de Civit. Dei.

2 Chrysos. Horn. 19, in priorem Ep. ad Corinth.

166 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 25.

ing : Eom. viii. 15, ' Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again
unto fear ; but a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.'
When a man is under a covenant of works, the testimony of his con
science is suitable to his estate ; and therefore in his natural condition
his spirit is servile, and all that he doth he doth as a servant : but
when he is regenerated, and claimeth by another tenure, that of grace,
the dispositions of his spirit are more filial and child-like ; he acteth
as a son, with an ingenuous liberty and confidence. Adam himself
in innocency, because under a covenant of works, was but as an
honourable servant : Gal. iv. 31 , ' We are not children of the bond
woman, but of the free.' The new covenant giveth us another kind
of estate and spirit. So Luke i. 74, ' Being delivered out of the hands
of our enemies, we serve him without fear ;' that is, without such a
scrupulous awe and bondage, as otherwise would remain upon the
soul.

Use. Well, then, consider whether you be under a law of liberty, yea
or no. To this end — (1. ) Ask your souls, which is a bondage to you, sin or
duty ? When you do complain of the yoke, what is grievous to you, the
commandment or the transgression ? Do you ' delight in the law of the
Lord in the inward man ? ' Only corruption that hangeth on so fast
is a sad burthen. The carnal heart hath a spite at the law, Eom. viii. 7,
not its own lusts. (2.) When you do duty, what is the weight that
poiseth your spirits to it ? Your warrant is the command ; but your
poise and weight should be love.1 (3.) What is your strength for duty
— reason or the assistance of the free Spirit ? He that cometh in his own
name usually standeth upon his own bottom. When our dependence is
on Christ, our tendency is to him. (4.) Would you have the work ac
cepted for its own sake, or your persons accepted for Christ's sake ? It is
an ill sign when a man's thoughts run more upon the property and qua
lity of the work than upon the propriety and interest of his person. In
the law of liberty or covenant of grace, God's acceptance beginneth
with the person ; and though there be weak services, much deadness,
coldness, dulness, yet it is accepted, because it is done in a free state.
Works can never be so vile as our person was when we first found
favour with God. If it be thus with you, you have cause to bless God
for your freedom, to consider what you shall render again. Kequite
God you cannot till you pay back as much as he gave you.2 ' He hath
given his Son to free you, and you should give up yourselves.

06s. 5. From that and abidetli therein. This commendeth our
knowledge of and affection to the word, to continue in it. Hypocrites
have a taste ; some men's hearts burn under the ordinances, but all is
lost and drowned in the world again : John viii. 31, ' If ye continue
in the word, then are ye my disciples indeed.' There may be good
flashes for the present, but Christ saith, * If ye continue/ if ye ripen
them to good affections. So 2 John 9, * Whosoever transgresseth, and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God ; but he that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son.' He that hath not God hath lost himself; and he that hath
God hath all things : now so great a privilege is promised to perseve-

L 'Amor meus est pondus meum, eo feror quocunque feror.' — Aug.
3 ' Deo redempti sumus, Deum debemus.'— Salvian.

JAS. I. 25.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 167

ranee. The corrupt angels lost their glory when they left their love
to the truth. Their sin is thus expressed — they ' abode not in the
truth/ John viii. 44. Now to this abiding in the word two things are
opposite : — (1.) Apostasy, when we go off from our former profession
and zeal for God ; a sad case ! 2 Peter ii. 21, ' Better they had never
known the holy commandment than to go back from the knowledge of
it after it was once delivered to them.' The less law the less trans
gression ; apostates sin against more conviction : Ps. cxix. 118,
'Thou hast trodden down them that err from thy statutes: God
treadeth them under feet as unsavoury salt,1 because they have
lost their smartness and savour. (2.) There is erepoSiSacncaXla,
other gospelling: Gal. i. 6, 'Soon turned to another gospel.' So
1 Tim. i. 3, ' Charge them that they teach no other doctrine.'
Men would have something new and strange, which is usually the
ground of heresy. So 1 Tim. vi. 3, 'If any teach otherwise, and
consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, he is proud, knowing nothing/ This desire to differ, and
hear another gospel, is very dangerous ; new ways affected are the
high way to an old error.

Well, then, if we must abide in the word, then — (1.) Be sure to
cherish good motions if they come upon your hearts : you are to abide
therein : though the Spirit break in upon the soul of a sudden, let it
not go so. Usually our religious pangs are but like a sudden flash of
lightning into a dark place. (2.) Be careful to observe the first
decays and languishments of your spirits, that you may 'strengthen
the things that are ready to die/ Kev. iii. 2. If the candle of the Lord
doth not shine as it was wont to do, complain of the first dimness
and decay.

Obs. 6. From that being not a forgetful hearer. That hearers must
take heed that they do not forget the good things dispensed to them.
Helps to memory are these : — (1.) Attention ; men remember what they
heed and regard : Prov. iv. 21, ' Attend to my sayings ; keep them in
the midst of thine heart ; ' that is, in such a place where nothing can
come to take them away. Where there is attention, there will be
retention : the memory is the chest and ark of divine truths, and a
man should see them carefully locked up : Isa. xlii. 23, ' Who will
hearken and hear for the time to come ?' Hearkening noteth rever
ence and seriousness ; as it is said, Isa. xxxii. 3, ' The ears of them
that hear shall hearken/ Now reverence in the admission of the word
helpeth us in the keeping of it : truths are lost by slight hearing.
(2.) Affection, that is a great friend to memory ; men remember what
they care for : an old man will not forget where he laid his bag of
gold : delight and love are always renewing and reviving the object
upon our thoughts, Ps. cxix. David often asserteth his delight in the
law, and therefore it was always in his thoughts : ver. 97, ' Oh how
love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day/ (3.) Application
and appropriation of truths; we will remember that which con-
cerneth ourselves : in a public edict, a man will be sure to carry away
that which is proper to his case and tenure : Job v. 27, ' Hear this,

14 Sic Ecebolius de ipso ; HaT^crare /i£ r6 aXas r6 dvalffdyTOv.' — Socrat. Ecd. Hi&t.
lib. iii. cap. 2.

168 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 25,

and know it for thy good ;' there he spake to me ; this I must re
member for ray comfort. So Prov. ix. 12, ' Be wise for thyself;'
this is for your souls, and concerneth you nearly. (4.) Meditation,
and holy care to cover the word, that it be not snatched from us by
vain thoughts ; that the fowls of the air do not peck up the good
seed, Mat. xiii. 4. You should often revolve and revive it upon the
thoughts : as an apple, when it is tossed in the hand, leaveth the odour
and smell of it behind when it is gone : Luke ii. 19, * Mary kept these
sayings, and pondered them in her heart ;' she kept them, because she
pondered them. (5.) Observation of the accomplishment of truths :
you will remember things spoken long since, when you see them veri
fied: John ii. 19, ' Then they remembered that it was written, The zeal
of thine house hath eaten me up/ Such occasions observed will make
old truths come to mind afresh. So ver. 22, * Then they remembered
he had spoken ' of destroying the temple in three days. So God
saith, Hosea vii. 12, * I will chastise them, as their congregation hath
heard.' When the prophets are dead and gone, they may remember
they were taught such things along time since. (6.) Practise what
thou nearest : you will remember the good you get by it : 'I will re
member thy precepts, for by them thou hast quickened me/ Ps. cxix. 93.
Christians can discourse of the circumstances of that sermon by which
they have received profit. (7.) Commit it to the Spirit's keeping and
charge : John xiv. 26, The Comforter, ava^vrjo-e^ shall bring things to
your remembrance/ Christ chargeth the Holy Ghost with his own
sermons ; the disciples' memories were too slippery : and truly this
is the great advantage which they have that have interest in the
promise of the Spirit, that truths are brought freshly to mind in the
very season wherein they do concern them.

Obs. 7. From that lie, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer.
Sin cometh for want of remembering : forgetful hearers are negligent :
Ps. ciii. 18, ' Them that remember his commandments to do them/
A godly man hath an affective memory; he remembereth to do.
Wicked men are often expressed and set out by their bad memories ;
as Job viii. 13, ' They forget God ;' so Ps. cxix. 139, ' Mine enemies
have forgotten thy word;' that is, they do not practise it; yea, the
sins of God's people are usually sins of forgetfulness and incogitancy ;
as Peter would never have been so bold and daring upon the danger,
and done what he did, if he had remembered. The text saith, ' When
he remembered, he wept bitterly/ Luke xxii. 61. So when they
fainted under affliction : Heb. xii. 5, * Ye have forgotten the consola
tion whch speaketh to you as children.' A bad memory is the cause
of a great deal of mischief in the soul. So for distrust : Mark viii. 18,
' Ye see and hear, but do not remember ; ' they did not actually consider
the former experience of the loaves and fishes, and so distrusted. So-
for murmuring and impatience : David murmured till he * remem
bered the years of the right hand of the Most High/ Ps. Ixxvii. 10
We find that seasonable truths give a great deal of relief and ease to
the mind in a temptation: Lam. iii. 21, ' This I recall to mind, and
therefore I have hope;' whereas others are troubled with every event
of providence, because they do not remember the comforts the scrip
ture hath provided in such a case. They that came to the sepulchre

JAS. I. 26.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 169

were troubled about the death and resurrection of Christ, because they
had forgotten what he had spoken to them in Galilee, Luke xxiv. 6, 8.
So when the Thessalonians were troubled at the growing of errors,
and extremely shaken in their confidence, Paul saith, 2 Thes. ii. 5,
' Eemember ye not how I spake of those things ? ' It is very observ
able that in many places of scripture all duty is expressed by this word
remember, as if it did necessarily imply suitable actions and affections ;
so Exod. xx. 8, ' Kemember the sabbath-day ; ' as if, then, they must
needs sanctify it : so Eccles. xii. 1, ' Kemember thy Creator ;' it is put
for all that reverence, duty, and worship which we owe to God. In
other places the link between memory and duty is plainly asserted :
Num. xv. 40, ' That ye may remember to do all my commandments : '
a seasonable recalling of truths doth much. You see, out of all this,
that we should not only get knowledge, but remembrance ; that we
should not only faithfully lay up truths, but seasonably lay them out ;
it is a great skill to do so, and we had need call in the help of the
Spirit. There are some truths that are of a general use and benefit ;
others that serve for some cases and seasons. In the general, hide the
whole word in your heart, that ye may have a fresh truth to check sin
in every temptation, Ps. cxix. 11. So lay up the mercies of God that
you may be thankful ; forget not all his benefits, Ps. ciii. 2 ; your sins,
that you may be humble : Deut. ix. 7, ' Eemember and forget not
how thou provokedst the Lord thy God in the wilderness ; ' so remark
able experiences, ' the years of God's right hand,' that you may be
confident. Labour thus to get a present ready memory, that will urge
truths in the season when they do concern us.

Obs. 8. From that but a doer of the ivork. The word layeth out
work for us. It was not ordained only for speculation ; it is a rule of
duty to the creatures. There is the ' work of faith/ John vi. 29 ; the
' labour of love/ Heb. vi. 1 0 ; and ' fruits worthy repentance/ Mat. iii. 8.
All this work is cut out to us in the gospel — faith, love, and new
obedience. Do not content yourselves, then, with a module of truth.
The apostle calleth it, Rom. ii. 20, ^opfywcnv eVto-T^yu,^, ' a form of
knowledge/ With a winter sun, that shineth, but warmeth not, let
not the tree of knowledge deprive you of the tree of life ; work the
works of God. Faith is your work, repentance is your business, and
the life of love and praise your duty.

Obs. 9. From that shall be blessed in his deed. There is a blessed
ness annexed to the doing of the work of the word;1 not for the
work's sake, but out of the mercy of God. See then that you hear so that
you come within the compass of the blessing ; the blessing is usually
pronounced at the time of your addresses to God in this worship. See
that your own interest be clear, that when the minister, in God's
name, saith, * Blessed is he that heareth the word and keepeth it/ you
may echo again to God, and bless him in your reins, for that he hath
bowed your heart to the obedience of it.

Ver. 26. But if any man among you seemefh to be religious, and
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own soul, this man's religion
is vain.

The apostle having showed the blessedness of those which are doers
1 Qu. < Lord ' ?— ED.

170 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 26.

of the word, lest any should seem to challenge a share in it to whom
it doth not belong, he discovereth who are hearers only, and not doers
of the word ; men that do allow themselves in any known sin ; and he
instanceth in the evils of the tongue.

Quest. Before I open the words any further, I shall inquire why
James doth pitch so much weight upon this one particular, it
seeming so inconsiderable in itself, and it having so little respect to
the context.

Ans. The reasons assigned in the answer will afford us so many
notes.

Reas. 1. Because this is a chief part of our respect to our neighbour,
and true love to God will be manifested by love to our neighbour.
They do not usually detract from others whom God hath pardoned.
He that saith, ' Thou shalt love God,' hath also said, ' Thou shalt love
thy neighbour;' though the object be diverse, yet the ground for
obedience is the same ; therefore the apostles usually bring this argu
ment to unmask and discolour hypocritical persuasions ; as 1 John ii. 9,
'He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in
darkness even till now;' so 1 John iii. 17, 18, ' If he shut up his
bowels from his brother, how dwelleth the love of God in him ? ' How
can it be imagined that those that are sensible of the love of God
should be merciless towards others ? So 1 John iv. 20, ' He that loveth
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he
hath not seen ? ' The good and attractiveness that is in others is an
object of the senses, and usually they make a strong impression.
Well, then, do not flatter yourselves with duties of worship, in the
neglect of duties of commerce.

Reas. 2. Because of the natural proneness that is in us to offend with
the tongue: censuring is a pleasing sin, extremely compliant with
nature. How propense the nature of man is to it I shall show you in
the third chapter. Speech is the discovery of reason ; corruption soon
runneth out that way. Well, then, watch over it ; the more natu
ral corruptions are, the more care should we use to suppress them :
Ps. xxxix. 1, ' I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not with my
tongue.' There needeth special caution for that ; and as you should
watch, so you should pray, and desire God to watch over your watch
ing :^ Ps. cxli. 3, ' Set a watch before my mouth, keep the door of my
lips/ The awe of God is a great restraint.

Reas. 3. Because it was the sin of that age, as appeareth by his
frequent dissuasives. See ver. 19 ; so chap. Hi. per totum ; so chap. iv.
ver. 11, &c. The note is — It is an ill sign to be carried away with
the evil of the times. It is a description of wicked men, Eph. ii. 2,
that they ' walked according to the course of this world ; ' in the original,
tear aw»w, according to the age, as the manner of the times went.
So Kom. xii. 2: 'Be not conformed to this world;' T& OMBVI TOVTW,
1 to this age ;' the meaning is, do not get into the garb of the times.
So 2 Chron. xvii. 4, ' He walked after the trade of Israel.' Many do so ;
they walk after the fashion and trade of the country and times wherein
they live. Oh ! consider, this is the sure note of a vain profession.
Sins, when they grow common, become less odious; and therefore
slight spirits commit them without remorse.

JAS. I. 26.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 171

Reas. 4. Because it seerneth so small a sin, and having laid aside
grosser sins, they did the more securely continue in the practice of it.
They were not adulterers, drunkards ; and therefore, flattering them
selves with a show of holiness, they did the more freely censure and
detract from others. Note, indulgence in the least sin cannot stand
with grace. Your ' religion is vain ' if you do not c refrain your
tongue.' They are miserably mistaken that hope to redeem their souls
from the guilt of one sin by abstaining from the practice of another.
Some are precise in small things, that they may be excused for non-
observance of ' the weightier things of the law ; ' as the stomach,
when it cannot digest solid food, naturally desireth to fill itself
with water, or such light stuff as breedeth nought but wind. The
Pharisees ' tithed mint and cummin,' &c. Others avoid grosser sins,
and hope that it is an excuse for other corruptions that are not so
odious. We all plead, * Is it not a little one, and my soul shall live?'

Reas. 5. Because this is usually the hypocrite's sin. Hypocrites, of
all others, are least able to bridle their tongue ; and they that seem to
be religious, are most free in censuring ; partly because, being ac
quainted with the guilt of their own spirits, they are most apt to sus
pect others. Nazianzen saith of his father, ovre rl rcov irovrjpwv avros
TrapaSexT) — he being of an innocent and candid soul, was less apt to
think evil of others ; and he giveth this reason, fipabv yap et9 inrovoiav
Kcucovlro 7T/70? fca/ciav ^vcrKiv^ov — goodness is least suspicious, and plain
hearts think all like themselves. Partly because they use to be much
abroad that are so little at home. Censuring is a trick of the devil,
to take off the care from their own hearts ; and therefore, to excuse
indignation against their own sins, their zeal is passionate in declaim
ing against the sins of others. Gracious hearts reflect most upon
themselves ; they do not seek what to reprove in others, but what to
lament in themselves. Partly because they are not so meek and gentle
as true Christians. When a man is sensible of his own failings, he is
very tender in reflecting upon the weaknesses of others : Gal. vi. 1,
' Ye which are spiritual, restore him with meekness/ They which are
most spiritual are most tender to set a fallen Christian in joint again,
Karapri^ere. Partly because an hypocrite is a proud person : he would
have every one to be his own foil, and therefore he blemisheth others.
Diotrephes would be prating against John, because he ' loved the pre
eminence/ 3 John 9, 10. Partly because hypocrites are best at their
tongue, and therefore cannot bridle it. When men make religion a
talk, their way is to blemish others ; it is a piece of their religion.
The Lord give you to discern into your own souls, whether these dis
positions be in you or no.

Reas. 6. Because there is such a quick intercourse between the
tongue and the heart, that the tongue is the best discovery of it ; and
therefore, saith the apostle, is ' their religion vain/ if they ' cannot
bridle their tongues.' Seneca said, that the speech is the express
image of the heart ; and a greater than he said, ' Out of the abun
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh.' The quality of many men's
religion may be discerned by the intemperateness of their language ;
words are but the excrements and overflow of their wickedness. A
man may soon discern of what religion they are, saith Pareus of the

172 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 26.

Jesuits, qui theologiam in caninam maledicentiam transferunt — that,
like angry curs, cannot pass by one another without snarling.

These reasons being premised, the opening of the verse will be the
more easy.

If any man seemeth to be religious. — To himself or others, by the prac
tice of some few things by worship, and some duties of the first table.

And bridleth not his tongue ; that is, doth not abstain from the evils
of the tongue, such as railing, reviling, censuring, and detraction, which
latter, I suppose, is chiefly intended.

But deceiveth his own soul. — It may be understood two ways : — (1.)
Though he detract from others, yet he hath too good an opinion of
himself. Self-love is the ground of hypocrisy ; they do not search
themselves, suspect themselves. Judas said last, 'Master, is it I?'
They are too equal to themselves, though too severe to others. (2.)
The other sense may be, he cometh at length to flatter himself, to
deceive his own soul, as well as to seem to others.

This mans religion is vain ; that is, either he maketh his graces
and the good things that are in him to be vain and unprofitable, or
rather, his religion is pretended to no purpose.

Obs. 1. Besides what I have observed already from hence, you may
collect from that seemeth to be religious, there may be religion only
in pretence and seeming. So 1 Cor. viii. 2, ' If any man among you
thinketh he knoweth anything ; ' that is, pleaseth, flattereth himself in
the conceit of his knowledge. So Gal. vi. 3, ' If any man think him
self to be something, when he is nothing ; ' that proudly overweeneth
his own worth. Well, then, rest not in a ' form of godliness/ 2 Tim.
iii. 5, or in a ' form of knowledge/ Horn. ii. 20 ; in a naked specula
tion, or in a varnished profession. These things may carry a fair
show and semblance in the world, but are of no account before God.
Still put yourselves to this question, Am I yet beyond a hypocrite ?
Be what you would seem to be.1

Obs. 2. From that bridleth not his tongue. That it is a great part
of religion to bridle the tongue. There are several evils that must be
restrained — lying, swearing, cursing, railing, ribaldry. I shall speak
of these five: — (1.) Lying. Beware of that, with all the kinds, equi
vocation and dissimulation. Truth is the ground of commerce. It
is a sin destructive to the good of mankind. The devil, that is, the
accuser, he is called the liar too. Oh ! do not cry up a report of others,
till you have sifted it. ' Report, say they, and we will report it/ Jer.
xx. 10 ; that is, bring us anything, and we will blaze it ; and so a
little water is evaporated into a great deal of steam and smoke. Crassa
negligentia dolus est, say the civilians — if you do not try it, you are
guilty. (2.) Cursing. There is corruption at the heart when the
tongue is so blistered. It is observable that when God would have
the curses pronounced upon Mount Ebal, he employed the servile
tribes about it, only Reuben was amongst them, that prostituted his
father's bed. There is seldom any blessing for them that use them
selves to curses. (3.) Swearing. It is said the righteous ' feareth
an oath/ Eccles. ix. 2. Not only those false-mouthed oaths, but
minced oaths, and vain speeches, and peremptory asseverations in the

1 'Quod videri vis, illud esse debes.'

JAS. I. 27.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 173

slightest matters. Men that lavish away deep asseverations upon every
trifle are, if the matter be anything more serious, put upon that which
should be the last reserve, an oath. (4.) Bailing. I take it not only
for the gross railing, but privy defamations and whisperings to the
prejudice of others, meddling with other men's matters ; as the apostles
often speak against these, so commending with a but, as the scripture
saith of Naaman, 2 Kings v. 1, 'A great man, an honourable man, a
mighty man, but he was a leper.' They say he is thus and thus, but,
&c. ; and so wound while they pretend to kiss. They make their
praise but a preface to their reproach, which is but as an archer that
draweth back his hand, that the arrow may fly with the more force.
It was a great praise that Jerome gave Asella, Habebat silentium
loquens — she was silent when she spake ; for she spake only of reli
gious and necessary things, not meddling with others' persons or fame.
(5.) Kibaldry. Filthy 'rotten communication/ Col. iii. 8; ad-jrpos
Xo7o?, ' filthy speaking,' Eph. v. 4. Many travel under the burthen
of a profane jest. Oh ! the filthy breath that cometh out of their
mouths ! All foolish jesting cometh under this head. Aristotle's
virtue, evrpa7re\ia, is a sin with Paul, Eph. v. 4.

Obs. 3. From that but deceiveth himself. Hypocrites come at length
to deceive themselves. A liar, by repeating his lies, beginneth to
believe them. Natural conscience is pacified with a show. It is just
with God to punish deceit with deceit. And as they cozen others, so
they deceive their own souls ; as the carver fell in love with an image of
his own making, and thought it living. Hypocrisy endeth in hardness
and gross blindness, and by custom men dote upon that which at
first they knew was but paint and varnish ; as if God would be as
easily mocked and deceived as men.

Obs. 4. From that this man's religion is vain. Pretended religion will
be fruitless : shows are nullities with God. Of all things, a man cannot
endure that his serious actions shall be in vain and to no purpose ; for
there usually hope is more strong, and therefore the disappointment
must needs be the more vexatious. This will be no small part of
your torment in hell, to think that all your profession is come to this.
I prophesied in Christ's name, in his name I wrought miracles. I
conferred, repeated, closed with the better side, to my loss and disad
vantage, and yet am I now in hell. Oh ! how sad will such discourses
be in the place of torment ! Oh ! consider, the greater rise your hope
had, the more bruising and crushing will your fall be, as a stone that
falleth from a high place is broken to powder.

Ver. 27. — Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father,
is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and
to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Here the apostle cometh to the positive part of the trial. As he
must not do hurt, lest his religion prove vain ; so he must do good,
that it may be found pure and undefiled.

From the context observe : —

Obs. Negatives in religion are not enough : he must refrain his
tongue, and he must visit the fatherless. Our duty should carry pro
portion with the divine grace to us. God's mercies are not only priva
tive but positive ; he doth not only bring us out of hell, but put us

174 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 27.

under an assurance of glory. It was Absalom's misery to be only
acquitted from the punishment, but not to see the king's face. God's
grace is more entirely dispensed ; we are taken out of a state of wrath
into a state of love. God's terms to Abraham were, to be ' a shield
and an exceeding great reward ;' to be a protector, and a saviour ; and
to all the faithful, ' a sun and a shield/ Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. A shield
against danger, and a sun, the cause of all vegetation, life, and bless
ing. Now we should imitate our heavenly Father ; we should not
rest in a bare removal of evil, but be careful of that which is good :
there should be not only an abstinence from grosser sins, but
a care to maintain communion with God. The descriptions of the
word are negative and positive : c Walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, but walketh in the ways of the Lord/ Ps. i. 1, 2 ; so Kom.
viii. 1, ' Walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.' Some are not
drunkards, not outwardly vicious ; but are they godly ? Is there any
savour and power of religion ? Are there any motions and feelings of
the spiritual life within their souls ? God, that hateth sin, delighteth in
grace ; to be less evil, at the best, will but procure you a cooler hell.
It is vulgarly observed, that the Pharisee's religion ran upon nots,
Luke xviii. 11. It is not enough to live civilly and do no man wrong ;
there must be grace, and the exercise of grace. I observe, that sins
trouble the conscience more than want of grace, partly because con
science doth not use to smite for spiritual defects, and partly because
sins work an actual distemper and disturbance to reason. Oh ! but
consider ; he that wanteth good works is as much hated of God as the
outwardly vicious ; and the barren tree is cut down as well as the
poisonous tree — if it bear no fruit as well as if it bear ill fruit. It is not
enough for a servant that he doth his master no hurt ; he must do his
master's work : in the Gospel, he had not misspent his talent, but hid
it in a napkin.

But I come to the words. In the verse he presseth them to works
of charity, and an holy conversation, that so they might both show
themselves to be truly religious, and that their profession was that
pure and immaculate faith which Christian religion propoundeth.

Pure religion, and undefiled. — He doth not set down what is the
whole nature of religion, but only some particular testimonies of it.
Keligion also requireth faith and worship, but the truth of these is
evidenced by charity and an holy life ; and, therefore, the anti-scrip-
turists of our days grossly pervert this place, and the scope of the
apostle, when they would make all religion to consist in these outward
acts; for the apostle is dealing with hypocrites, who pretended faith and
worship, neglecting charity.

Before God and the Father is this ; that is, before God, who is the
Father of Christ, and us in him. The like phrase is used in many
other places : 2 Cor. i. 3, ' Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ;' so Eph. i. 3 ; so Eph. v. 20, 'To the God, and the
Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ : ' and he saith, ' Before
God/ that is, in his eye, and his esteem. Hypocrites may deceive men,
for they see only what is without ; but God the Father judgeth
rightly. And also this is mentioned to imply the sincerity of such
Christian offices ; they should be done as in the presence of God.

JAS. I. 27.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 175

To visit. — Under this word by a synecdoche are comprehended all
duties of love. To visit, is to comfort them in their misery, to relieve
them in their necessities ; and under this one kind of charity are com
prehended all duties to our neighbour.

The fatherless and the widoivs. — These are specified, but others are
not excluded : there are other objects of charity, as the poor, the sick,
the captive, the stranger, which are also spoken of in scriptures. But
the fatherless and widows do most usually want relief, and are most
liable to neglect and oppression. They are often mentioned elsewhere
in scripture ; as Isa. i. 17, ' Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow ;'
so Ps. cxlvi. 9 ; so Prov. xv. 25, and xxiii. 10.

In their affliction ; that is, in their straits, and when most op
pressed; and this is added lest men should think their duty per
formed by visiting those amongst the fatherless and widows that are
rich and wealthy.

And to keep himself unspotted. — This is coupled with the former
duty, to show the inseparable connection that should be between
charity and holiness, and to show that that religion is false which
doth not teach holiness as well as charity : as Papists sever them, and
cry up charity as a merit to expiate the defect of holiness.

From the world. — The world, when it is taken in an ill sense, is
sometimes put for the men of the world, and sometimes for the lusts
of the world : 1 John ii. 15, ' Whatever is in the world is either the
lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, or the pride of life.' Now, to

* keep ourselves unspotted from the world/ is to keep ourselves from
the taint and infection of an evil example, and the prevalency and
sovereignty of worldly lusts.

Out of this verse observe : —

06s. 1. That it is the glory of religion when it is pure : Ps. xix.,
' The commandment of the Lord is pure ; ' no doctrine so holy in
itself, and maketh such provision for good life. False religions are
descried by their impurity. God suffereth false worshippers to fall
into obscenities, that they may draw a just scorn upon themselves,
Kom. i. Popery is no friend to good life : pardons set at sale make
way for looseness. The true Christian religion is called ' a holy faith,'
Jude 20. No faith goeth so high for rewards, nor is so holy for
precepts. Well, then, an impure life will not suit with a holy faith.
Precious liquor must be kept in a clean vessel, and ' the mystery of the
faith ' held ' in a pure conscience/ 1 Tim. iii. 9. We never suit with
our religion more than when the way is undefiled and the heart pure :

* Blessed are the undefiled in the way/ Ps. cxix. 1 ; and again,
' Blessed are the pure in heart/ Mat. v. 8.

Obs. 2. That a pure religion should be kept undefiled. A holy life
and a bounteous heart are ornaments to the gospel. Keligion is not
adorned with ceremonies, but purity and charity. The apostle
speaketh of making the doctrine of God our Saviour comely, _ Titus
ii. 10. It is with us either to credit or to stain our religion :

* Wisdom is/ or should be, 'justified of her children/ Mat. xi. 19.
By the innocency of their lives they bring a glory to their way. So
also a bountiful man is an honour to his profession, whereas a
covetous man sullieth it ; as the apostle saith, Rom. v. 7, ' For a

176 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 27.

righteous man would one scarcely die, but for a good man would one
even dare to die.' A man of a severe innocency is hated rather than
loved, but a good or bountiful man gaineth upon the hearts of others ;
they would even die for him.

Obs. 3. A great fruit and token of piety is provision for the
afflicted. In the 25th of Matthew you see acts of charity fill up the
bill. Works of mercy do well become them that do expect or have
received mercy from God; this is to be like God, and we should
never come to him, or go away from him, but with somewhat of his
image in our hearts : dissimilitude and disproportion is the ground of
dislike. Now one of the chief glories in the Godhead is the un-
weariedness of his love and bounty : he visits the fatherless and the
widows ; so should we : the spirit of our religion is forgiving ; and
therefore the cruel hard heart is made by Paul a kind of ' denying the
faith/ 1 Tim. v. 8.

Obs. 4. Charity singleth out the objects that are most miserable.
The apostle saith, ' the widows and fatherless,' and that * in their
afflictions/ That is true bounty when we give to those that are not
able to make requital : Luke xiv. 12-14, ' When thou makest a
dinner or supper, call not thy brethren, or friends, or rich neigh
bours/ &c. We cannot do the least duty for God but we have some
self aims. We make our giving many times to be a kind of selling, and
mind our advantage in our charity. Oh ! consider, our sweetest influ
ences should fall on the lower grounds : to visit the rich widows is but
courtesy ; to visit the poor, and that in their affliction, that is charity.

Obs. 5. This charity to the poor must be performed as worship, out
of respect to God. The apostle saith to visit the fatherless is 0pijcr-
fceta, worship. A Christian hath a holy art of turning duties of the
second fctable into duties of the first ; and in respect to man, they
worship God. So Heb. xiii, 16, 'To do good, and to communicate,
forget not ; for with such sacrifice God is well pleased/ To do good
is a duty of the second table ; and sacrifice, while it was a part of
God's worship, a duty of the first. Well, then, alms should be
sacrifice ; not a sin-offering, but a thank-offering to God. This is the
difference between a Christian and others, he can make commerce
worship. In common business he acteth upon reasons and principles
of religion, and whatever he doth to man, he doth it for God's sake,
out of love to God, fear of God. The world is led by interest, and
they by conscience. The men of the world are tied one to another,
like Samson's foxes by their tails, by their mutual' intertwisted
interests ; but they, in all their relations, do what they do as in and
to the Lord, Eph. v. 22 ; so Eph. vi. 1 ; so ver. 7, et alibi. Well,
then, we must be tender of the end and reason of our actions in civil
respects : alms is worship and sacrifice, and therefore not to be offered
to the idol of our own credit and esteem, or to be done out of private
ends, but in obedience to God, and for his glory.

Obs. 6. From that before God. True religion and profession is rather
for God's eye than man's. It aimeth at the approbation of God, not
ostentation before men. David saith, Ps. xviii. 23, * I have been
upright before thee, and kept myself from my iniquity/ That is a
fruit of true uprightness, to draw all our actions into the presence of

JAS. I. 27.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 177

God, and to do what we do before him. So Ps. xvi. 8, ' I have set
the Lord always before me/ In every action he was thinking of the
eye of God ; will this be an action for God's notice and approbation ?
So Ps. cxix. 168, ' I have kept thy testimonies ; for all my ways are
before thee/ He maketh that to be the reason of the integrity of his
obedience, ' My ways are before thee ;' under the observance and
inspection of God. Hypocrites cannot endure such thoughts. The
prodigal was for a far country, away from his father ; and it is said,
Job xiii. 16, 'A hypocrite will not come before him ;7 that is, be
under God's eye and sight.

Obs. 7. From that before God and the Father. We serve God
most comfortably when we consider him as a Father in Christ. Lord,
Lord, is not half so sweet as Our Father. Duty in the covenant of
grace is far more comfortable, not only as we have more help, but
because it is done in a sweeter relation. We are not servants, but
have received the adoption of sons. Get an interest in God, that his
work may be sweet to you. Mercies yield the more sweetness when
they come not only from a Creator, but a Father ; and duties are done
with the more confidence when we can come into the presence of God,
not as servants, but sons. A servant may use greater industry and
pains than a son, and yet please less.

Obs. 8. The relieving of the afflicted and the unspotted life must
go together. As the apostle coupleth them, so doth Christ : Mat. v.
7, 8, ' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy ;' and then
presently, ' Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.'
A man that is charitable and not pure, is better to others than to
himself. Goodness and righteousness are often coupled in the Old
Testament : Micah vi. 8 ; so Dan. iv. 27. It is strange that men should
so grossly separate what God hath joined. There are some that are
' pure in their own eyes,' but content themselves with a cheap and
barren profession. Others are vicious and loose, and they are all for
acts of charity and mercy ; and so covetousness lurketh under the veil
of profession on the one side, and on the other men hope to recom
pense God for the excesses of an ill life by a liberal profusion, as if
the emptying of the purse were a way to ease the conscience. Well,
then, let the hand be open and the heart pure. You must ' visit the
fatherless and the widow/ and ' keep yourselves unspotted from the
world.'

Obs. 9. The world is a dirty, defiling thing. A man can hardly
walk here but he shall defile his garments. (1.) The very things of
the world leave a taint upon our spirits. By worldly objects we soon
grow worldly. It is hard to touch pitch and not to be defiled. We
see in other things that our minds receive a tincture from those objects
with which we usually converse. Christ prayeth, John xvii. 15, 'I
pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but keep them
from the evil of the world/ Christ knew what a temptation it is to
live here in the midst of honours, and pleasures, and profits. It was
a happy thing that Paul could say, Gal. vi. 14, ' I am crucified to
the world, and the world is crucified to me/ The world hated him,
and he did not care for the world. The world is crucified to many,
but they are not crucified to it ; they follow after a flying shadow.

VOL. iv. M

178 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. I. 27.

(2.) The lusts of the world, they stain the glory and deface the excel
lency of your natures : ' Corruption is in the world through lust/
2 Peter i. 4. Your affections were made for higher purposes than to
be melted out in lusts. To love the pleasures of the world, it is as if
you should defile your bed with a blackamoor, and be so sick of lust
as to hug nastiness. and embrace the dung, Lam. iv. 5. (3.) The men
of the world are sooty, dirty creatures. We cannot converse with
them but they leave their filthiness upon us. The apostle saith,
2 Tim. ii. 21, ' If a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel
of honour, sanctified and meet for the master's use/ From these, that
is, from the leprosy of evil examples, for the apostle speaketh of those
vessels of dishonour that are in the great house of God, the world,
which a man cannot touch without defilement. A man cannot hold
any communion with them, but he shall be the worse for them.
' These are spots in your love-feasts,' Jude 12 ; they defile the
company.

Well, then — (1.) Let us more and more grow weary of the world.
A man that would always live here is like a scullion that loveth to lie
among the pots. In those blessed mansions that are above, ' there
shall in no wise enter anything that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination,' Kev. xxi. 27. There we shall have pure com
pany, and be out of the reach and danger of temptations. There are
no devils in heaven ; they were cast out long since, 2 Peter ii. 6, and
you are to fill up their vacant rooms and places. The devil, when he
was not fit for heaven, he was cast into the world, a fit place for
misery, sin, arid torment ; and now this is the devil's walk. He com-
passeth the earth to and fro. Who would be in love with a place of
bondage ? with Satan's diocese ? that odd, dirty corner of the uni
verse, where a man can hardly move back or forth, but he shall be
defiled? (2.) While we live here, let us keep ourselves as unspotted
as we can. In a place of snares, we should walk with the more care :
Kev. iii. 4, 'There are a few names that have not defiled their
garments ; they shall walk with me in white.' There are some, though
few, that escape the taint of the world. You are kept by the power
of God ; yet, in some sense, you must keep yourselves : you are to
' watch, and keep your garments,' Kev. xvi. 15. You are to act faith
upon the victory of Christ, by which ' he hath overcome the world/ 1
John v, 4. You are to commend yourselves to God in prayer, that he
may keep and ' present you faultless before the presence of his glory/
Jude 24. You are to discourse upon the promises, and to work them
into your hearts by spiritual reasoning, that you may ' escape the cor
ruption that is in the world through lust/ 2 Peter i. 4, and 2 Cor. vii.
1. You are to avoid communion with the lepers of the world : we
should learn a holy pride,1 and scorn such company. A man that
keepeth ill company is like him that walketh in the sun, tanned
insensibly. All these things you must do. It is a folly to think
that because the power is from God, therefore the care should not be
in ourselves.

1 ' Discamus sanctam superbiam, et sciamus nos esse illis meliores.'— Hieron.

JAS. II. 1.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 179

CHAPTER II.

VER. 1. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

This chapter containeth two special admonitions, which were very
needful as the state of things then were. The first is against ' re
spect of persons/ because of outward advantages, especially in church
matters. The other is against a vain opinion and ostentation of
faith, where there was no presence or testimony of works to commend
it. He dealeth in the former admonition from the 1st verse to
the 14th. And in the latter from thence to the end of the
chapter.

In this 1st verse he propoundeth the matter to them which he
would have them to avoid, * respect of persons ' because of some out
ward excellency, which hath no kind of affinity or pertinency at all to
religion. The sense will be most clear by a particular explication of
the words.

My brethren. — An usual compilation throughout the epistle.
Some think he chiefly intendeth in this expression the presbyters and
deacons, who had a great hand (say they) in giving every one their con
venient places. But I know no reason why we should so restrain it,
it being applied in all the other passages of the epistle to the whole
body of those to whom he wrote ; and here, where he dissuadeth
them from respect of persons, it seemeth to have a special respect, as
noting the equal interest of all Christians in the same Father.

Have not the faith. — Faith is not taken strictly, but more generally
for the profession of Christian religion, or the manifestations of the
grace of Christ in the souls of his people. The meaning is, have not
grace, have not religion, &c.

Of our Lord Jesus Christ. — He doth not mean the personal faith of
Christ, or, as some accommodate the expression, faith wrought by
Christ. This manner of speech doth not note the author so much as
the object. Faith of Christ, in the intent of the scripture, is faith in
Christ ; as Gral. ii. 20, ' I live by the faith of the Son of God ; ' so
Eph. iii. 12, ' We have confidence, and access, by the faith of him ; '
so Phil. iii. 9, ' The righteousness which is through the faith of
Christ ; ' and so elsewhere. Now Christ is here called our Lord,
because it is the proper term for him as mediator and head of the
Church, and by virtue of our common and equal interest in him : the
head is dishonoured in the disrespect of the members.

The Lord of glory. — Some read, ( The faith of the glory of Christ
with respect of persons ; ' that is, do not measure the glorious faith by
these outward and secular advantages, or ' the faith of our glorious
Lord Jesus Christ ; ' for we supply the word Lord, which is but once
in the original, partly because he is called so in other places : 1 Cor.
ii. 8, ' They would not have crucified the Lord of glory ;' partly because
it is fitly repeated out of the context ; partly because in this place
it hath the force of an argument. Christianity being a relation to
the Lord of glory, putteth honour enough upon men, though other
wise poor and despicable ; and if men did believe Christ were

180 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 1.

glorious, they would not so easily despise those in whom there is the
least of Christ.

With respect of persons, evrrpoo-coTroXrjtyLais. — Respect of persons is
had when, in the same cause, we give more or less to any one than is
meet, because of something in his person which hath no relation to
that cause. The word properly signifieth accepting of one's face or
outside, and so noteth a respect to others out of a consideration of some
external glory that we find in them. The phrase, when it is used in
the Old Testament, is rendered by the Septuagint by Oav/jud^v TO
7rp6cra)7rov,1 wondering at a man's face, as being overcome and dazzled
at the beauty of it ; which probably gave occasion to that expression of
St Jude, ver. 16, Oav^dfyvres irpoawira, which we render, ' having
men's persons in admiration because of advantage/ But, before we
go on, we must rightly pitch and state the offence from which our
apostle dissuadeth, for otherwise absurdities will follow. Civility and
humanity calleth for outward respect and reverence to them that
excel in the world. To rise up to a rich man is not simply evil. If
all difference of persons, and respect to them, were sinful, there
would be no place for government and mastership. Therefore I shall
inquire : —

I. What respect of persons is sinful.

II. The particular abuse which the apostle taxeth and noteth in this
expression.

First, What respect of persons is sinful? There is a holy and
warrantable respect of persons either by God or men : — (1.) By God ;
he is said to ' accept the faces ' of his people, Gen. xix. 21 — naschati
panecha, so it is in the Hebrew ; and so elsewhere God is often said
to respect their persons ; their persons first, and then their services.
(2.) By men, when we prefer others out of a due cause, their age,
calling, gifts, graces : yea, it is lawful to put a respect upon them be
cause of that outward glory and excellency wherewith God hath
furnished them. There is a respect proper and due to their persons,
though not so much for their own sakes as for the bounty of God to
them ; as they that bowed before the ass that carried about the rites
of Isis, non tibi, sed religioni, did obeisance to the religion, not the
beast.

But then there is a vicious respect of persons, when the judgment
is blinded by some external glory and appearance, so that we cannot
discern truth or right, and a cause is over-balanced by such foreign
circumstances as have no affinity with it. Thus it is said, Lev.
xix. 15, ' Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour
the mighty ; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.'
Neither swayed with foolish pity, on the one hand, nor with respect to
might, power, friendship, greatness, on the other ; as usually those are
the two prejudices against the execution of justice : either carnal pity
saith, He is a poor man, or else carnal fear saith, He is a great man ;
and so the outward accidents of life are rather valued than the merits
of the cause. So Deut. i. 17, ' Thou shalt not respect persons in
judgment, but hear the small as well as great/

Secondly, What is this particular offence which the apostle calleth

1 See Cartw. in Gen. xix. 21.

JAS. II. 1.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 181

the ' having the faith of Christ in respect of persons/ which was the
sin of those times ? I answer — (1.) In the general, their having too
great a care of these differences and outward regards in their church
administrations, both in their worship, and courts, and censures, as we
shall show in the next verse. In the things of God all are equal ;
rich and poor stand upon the same level and terms of advantage. Our
salvation is called ' a common salvation,' Jiule 3 ; and the faith of all,
for the essence and object of it, 'a like precious faith,' 2 Peter i. 1.
But now their respects were only carried out to those that lived in
some splendour in the world, with a manifest and sensible contempt
of their poor brethren, as if they were unworthy their company and
converse ; as appeareth not only by the present context, but by chap,
i. 8, 9, where he comforteth the poor despised brethren, showing that
grace was their preferment; and 1 Cor. x. 1, from ver. 19 onward,
* Every one took his own supper ; ' ver. 22, but ' despised the church
of God ; ' that is, excluded the poor, who were the church as well as
they. So that mark, there was not only a difference made between
the poor and the rich, but great reverence showed to the one, with
a proud contempt of the other. (2.) More particularly — (1st.)
They over-esteemed the rich, doing all the grace and reverence they
could devise in the congregation and courts of judicature ; yea, they
went so far as to esteem the wicked rich above the godly poor, honour
ing and observing those that were apt to hale them to the judgment-
seats. (2d.) They debased the poor, not considering them according
to their eminency in grace and high station in Christianity ; passing
by the appearance of God in them, without any mark or notice ; yea,
they offered injury and contumely to them, because of their outward
abasure and despicableness, out of a proud insolence, scarce behaving
themselves towards them as men, much less as Christians.

The notes are these: —

Obs. 1. That respect of persons in religious matters is a sin. We
maybe many ways guilty of it: — (1.) By making external things,
not religion, the ground of our respect and affection. The apostle
saith, 2 Cor. v. 16, ' Henceforth know we no man after the flesh ;
yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth
know we him no more.' Knowing after the flesh is to love and
esteem any one out of secular and outward advantages. Paul, when
a Pharisee, looked for a Messiah coming in outward pomp and glory ;
but being converted, he had laid aside those fleshly thoughts and
apprehensions. It is true what Solomon saith, 'Wisdom with an
inheritance is good.' When grace and outward excellency meet to
gether, it niaketh the person more lovely ; but the ground and rise
of our affection should be grace. Love to the brethren is an evi
dence, but we should be careful of the reason of that love, that
we love them qua brethren, because of that of God which we see in
them. That saying of Tertuilian is usual, We must not judge of
faith by persons, but of persons by faith.1 (2.) When we do not carry
out the measure and proportion of affection according to the measures
and proportions of grace, and pitch our respects there where we find
the ground of love most eminent. David's delights were * to the saints,

1 ' Nori judicamus ex personis fidem, sed ex fide personas.' — Tertul.

182 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 1.

and the excellent of the earth/ Ps. xvi. 3 ; that is, to those which were
most eminent among them. Some prefer a cold, neutral profession
before real grace, will not own mean Christians by any familiarity and
converse, though the power and brightness of God's image shine forth
most clearly in them. The apostle saith, 1 Cor. xii. 23, ' We bestow
most honour on the uncomely parts/ Those who have least of worldly
pomp and grace, if they excel in Christ, should have most of Christian
respect and honour. (3.) When we can easily make greatness a cover
for baseness, and excuse sin by honour, whereas that is the aggrava
tion ; the advantage of greatness maketh sin the more eminent and
notable. It is good to note with what freedom the scriptures speak of
wicked persons in the highest honour : Dan. iv. 17, he giveth king
doms ' to the basest of men ;' the world cannot think as basely of the
children of God, but the word speaketh as basely of them. The
Turkish empire, as great as it is, saith Luther, it is but a morsel, which
the master of the house throweth to dogs.1 David maketh it a de
scription of a godly man, Ps. xv. 4, ' In whose eyes a vile person is
contemned, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord";'/ let him be
what he will be, if he be a wicked person, he is to them a vile person.
How low was that evil king in the eyes of the holy prophet ! 2 Kings
iii. 14, ' Were it not that I regarded the presence of Jehoshaphat, the
King of Judah, I would not look towards thee, nor see thee/ (4.)
When we yield religious respects, give testimonies to men for advan
tage, and, under pretence of religion, servilely addict ourselves to men
for base ends ; this Jude noteth in that expression, Jude 16, ' Having
men's persons in admiration because of advantage/ The apostle
speaketh of some heretics that were otherwise proud, but yet for ad
vantage fawning and servile, as usually none so base-spirited as the
proud are, when it may make for their worldly profit.2 It was observed
of our late bishops, by one of their own party,3 that (though they were
otherwise of a proud, insulting spirit) they were willing to take Ham's
curse upon them, that they might domineer in the tents of Shem ; to
be servi servorum, slaves to great men-servants, that they might bear
rule over the tribe of Levi. But to return ; this is a clear respect of
persons, when men keep at a distance, and are proud to the poor ser
vants of God, but can crouch, and comply, and do anything for profit
and advantage. It was a brave resolution that of Elihu, Job xxxii.
21, ' I cannot accept any man's person ; I know not to give flattering
titles/ (5.) When church administrations are not carried on with an
indifferent and even hand to rich and poor, either by way of exhorta
tion or censure. By way of exhortation : Christ died for both, and we
must have a care of both, Exod. xxx. 15 ; the poor and the rich were
to give the same atonement for their souls ; their souls were as pre
cious to Christ as those that glitter most in outward pomp. The
apostle saith, ' We are debtors both to the bond and free/ Kom. i. 14.
Christ saith to Peter, ' Feed my lambs,' as well as ' Feed my sheep/
John xxi. So for censure : Micaiah feared not Ahab, nor John Baptist

1 ' Turcicum imperium, quantum quantum est, mica est quam paterfamilias canibus
projicit.' — Luth.

1 Ut dominetur aliis prius servit ; curvatur obsequio ut honors donetur.' — Ambros.
3 Dr Jackson in his Treatise of Faith, part ii. c. 26, p. 457.

JAS. II. 1.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 183

Herod and the Pharisees. It was an excellent commendation that
which they gave to Christ, Mark xii. 14, ' Thou carest for no man,
and regardest the person of no man, but teachest the way of God in
truth.' Ah ! we should learn of our Lord and Master. We are never
true ministers of Jesus Christ till we deal alike with persons that are
alike in themselves. (6.) When we contemn the truths of God be
cause of the persons that bring them to us. Usually we regard the
man rather than the matter, and not the golden treasure so much as
the earthen vessel ;x it was the prejudice cast upon Christ, ' Is not this
the carpenter's son ? ' We look upon the cup rather than the liquor,
and consider not what, but tvho bringeth it. Matheo Langi,2 Arch
bishop of Saltzburg, told every one that the reformation of the mass
was needful, the liberty of meats convenient, and to be disburdened
of so many commands of men just ; but that a poor monk (meaning
Luther) should reform all was not to be endured. So in Christ's time
the question was common, ' Do any of the rulers believe in him ? '
Thus you see we are apt to despise excellent things, because of the
despicableness of the instrument : ' The poor man delivered the
city' (saith Solomon) ' but he was forgotten/ Eccles. ix. 15, 16. The
same words have a different acceptation, because of the different esteem
and value of the persons engaged in them. Erasmus observed, that
what was accounted orthodox in the fathers, was condemned as heretical
in Luther.3 Thus you see how many ways in religious matters we
may be guilty of respect of persons.

Use. Oh ! consider these things. It is a heinous evil, and a na
tural evil. We are marvellous apt to think that there is no emin-
ency but what consisteth in outward greatness. This is to disvalue
the members of Christ ; yea, to disvalue Christ himself : ' He that
despiseth the poor,' though they be but the common poor, ' reproacheth
their maker/ Prov. xvii. 5. But to despise poor Christians that are
again renewed to the image of God, that is higher ; and it is highest
of all when a Christian doth despise Christians ; as it is far worse for
a scholar to disvalue scholarship, or a soldier his profession, than for
other men. It is nothing so bad in worldly men, that are acquainted
with no higher glory. Oh ! consider what a dishonour it is to Christ
for you to prefer mammon before him, as if wealth could put a greater
value upon a person than grace.

Obs. 2. That Jesus Christ is a glorious Lord, not only in regard of his
own person, which is 'the brightness of his Father's glory/ Heb. i. 3, or in
regard of his present exaltation, whereby he hath ' a name above all
names/ Phil: ii. 9. Not only as he enjoyeth it in himself, but as he
dispenseth it to others. He will give you as much glory as your hearts
can wish for. He putteth an honour upon you for the present. You
may be sure you shall not be disgraced by him, either in your hope ;
it is such as ' shall not make you ashamed/ Rom. v. 5 : false wor
shippers may be ashamed, as Baal's were, of their trust in their god,

1 ' Omnia dicta tanti existimantur, quantus est ipse qui dixerit, nee tarn dictionis vim
atque virtutem quam dictatoris cogitant dignitatem.'— Salvia. contra A varit., lib. i.

2 Hist, of Council of Trent. Edit. Lond. 1629, p. 55.

3 ' Compertum est damnata ut hseretica in libris Lutheri, quae in Bernardi, Augustin-
ique libris ut orthodoxa immo et pia leguntur.' — Erasm. in Epist. ad Card. Mogunt.

184: AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 1.

1 Kings xviii ; or of your enjoyments : you are ( made comely in his
comeliness/ Ezek. xvi. 1 4 ; and the church is called ' the fairest among
women/ Cant. v. 9 ; or of your service : your work is an ornament to
you. God himself is ' glorious in holiness/ Exod. xv. 11. But for the
future you will always find him a Lord of glory ; sometimes in this
world, after you have been a long time beclouded under disgrace, re
proach, and suffering. When hair is shaven, it cometh the thicker,
and with a new increase ; so, when the razor of censure hath made
your heads bare, and brought on the baldness of reproach, be not dis
couraged : God hath a time to ' bring forth your righteousness as the
noon-day/ Ps. xxxvii. 6, by an apparent conviction to dazzle arid dis
courage your adversaries. The world was well changed when Con-
stantine kissed the hollow of Paphnutius' eye, that was erewhile put
out for Christ. Scorn is but a little cloud that is soon blown over.
But if Christ do not cause your enemies to bow to you, yet he will give
you honour among his people ; for he hath promised to honour those
that honour him, 1 Sam. ii. 30 ; and he is able to do it, for the hearts
of all men are in his hands, and he can dispose of their respects at
pleasure. That sentence of Solomon intimateth that Gcd is resolved
upon it, ' A man shall be commended according to his wisdom/ Prov.
xii. 8. But, however, suppose all this were not, in the next world you
shall be sure to find Christ a Lord of glory, when he cometh to put the
same glory upon the saints which the Father hath put upon himself,
John xvii. 22, 24. ' In that day/ as the apostle saith, ' he will be
glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe/ 2 Thes.
i. 10. It is a notable expression ; not only admired in himself, but in
his saints ; as if he accounted the social glory which resulteth to his
person from the glory of his children a greater honour to him than his
own personal glory. Well, then, look to your thoughts of Christ.
How do you consider him ? as a Lord of glory ? The apostle saith,
' To them that believe, Christ is precious/ 1 Peter ii. 7, in the ori
ginal, Ti/ir^, an honour. They account no honour like the honour of
having relation to Christ. You will know this disposition by two
notes : — (1.) All other excellencies will be as nothing. Birth, ' an
Hebrew of the Hebrews ; ' dignity, ' a Pharisee ; ' moral accomplish
ments, ' touching the law, blameless ; ' beauty and esteem in the world,
' if any man might have confidence in the flesh, I much more ; ' yet
* I count all things but dung and loss, for the excellency of the know
ledge of Christ/ Phil. iii. 8. (2.) All other abasures will be nothing:
Taireivos, the ' brother of base degree ' may count his baseness for Christ
a preferment; let him ' rejoice in that he is exalted/ James i. 9. So
of Moses it is said, he 'esteemed the reproaches of Christ better
treasures than the riches of Egypt/ Heb. xi. 26. Mark, he did not
only endure the reproaches of Christ, but counted them treasures, to be
reckoned among his honours and things of value. So Thuanus re-
porteth of Ludovicus Marsacus, a knight of France, when he was led,
with other martyrs that were bound with cords, to execution, and he
for his dignity was not bound, he cried, ' Give me my chains too ; let
me be a knight of the same order/ l Certainly it is an honour to be

1 'Cur non et me quoque torque donas, et insisrnis Luius ordinis militem creas?'
—Thuan. Hist.

JAB. II. 2-4.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 185

vile for God, 2 Sam. vi. 22. To a gracious spirit, nothing is base but
sin and tergiversation ; disgrace itself is honourable, when it is endured
for the Lord of glory.

Obs. 3. Those that count Christ glorious will account Christianity
and faith glorious. The apostle maketh it an argument here, ' The
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.' He that prizeth
the person of Christ prizeth all his relatives. As among men,
when we love a man, we love his picture, and whatsoever hath re
lation to him. Grace is but a ray, a derived excellency from Christ.
A Christian is much known by his esteem. What, then, do you ac
count most excellent in yourselves or others ? (1.) In yourselves.
What is your greatest honour and treasure ? What would you desire
for yourselves or others ? What would you part with first ? Theodo-
sius valued his Christianity above his empire. Luther said, he had
rather be Christian/us rusticus than ethnicus Alexander — a Christian
clown than a Pagan emperor. (2.) In others. Who are most precioua
with you ? those in whom you see most of the image of Christ ? We
use to honour the servants of glorious kings : Prov. xii. 26, ' The
righteous is more excellent than his neighbour.' Who is the best
neighbour to you ? those that fear God ? and do you like them best,
when their conferences are most religious ? You shall see this inde
finite proverb is restrained by another, Prov. xix. 1, where Solomon
intimateth that the righteous poor man is better than his rich neigh
bour. There, indeed, is the trial. Communion with holy and graci
ous spirits is far better than the countenance and respects of a great
man to you. Oh ! do not despise those jewels of Christ that lie in the
dirt and dunghill. David could see silver wings in those doves that
had lain among the pots.

Ver. 2-4. For if there come into your assembly a man ivith a gold
ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile
raiment ; and you have respect to him that iveareth the gay clothing,
and say to him, Sit thou here in a good place ; and say to the poor,
Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool ; are ye not then partial
in yourselves, and become judges of evil thoughts?

I have put all these verses together, because they make but one
entire sentence. The apostle proveth how guilty they were of this
evil from whence he dissuadeth them, by a usual practice of theirs in
their ecclesiastical conventions.

If there come into your assembly. — The word in the original is,
et? awaytoyrjv, ' into your synagogue/ by which some understand their
Christian assembly for worship : but that is not so probable, because
the Christian assembly is nowhere, that I can remember, expressed
by avi>a<ya)jrj, synagogue, but by eK/c\r](Tia, church ; and in the church-
meeting there may be, without sin, several seats and places appointed
for men of several ranks and dignities in the world ; and it is a mis
take to apply the censure of the apostle to such a practice. Others
apply it to any common convention and meeting for the deciding of
controversies, establishing of public order, and disposing of the offices
of the church ; and by synagogue they understand the court where
they judged all causes belonging to themselves.1 Austin seemeth to

1 ' Per convention significantur ccetus seu cougregationes public* profanee, in qnibus

186 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 2-4.

incline to this sense for one part of it, namely, for a meeting to dis
pose of all offices that belonged to the church, which were not to be
intrusted to men according to their outward quality, but inward
accomplishments ; l there being the same abuse in fashion in the primi
tive times which, to our grief, hath been found among us, that men
were chosen and called to office out of a respect to their worldly lustre
rather than their spiritual endowments, and the gold ring was pre
ferred before the rich faith, a practice wholly inconsonant with
Christian religion and with the dispensation of those times ; God
himself having immediately called fishermen, and persons otherwise
despicable, certainly of little note and remark in the world, to the
highest offices and employments in the church. If we take the words
in this restrained sense, for a court or meeting to dispose of ecclesiastical
offices and functions, the context may be accommodated with a very
proper sense, for, according to their offices, so had they places in all
church-meetings ; and therefore the apostle Paul useth that phrase,
' He that occupieth the room of the unlearned/ 1 Cor. xiv. 16 ; or, as
it is in the original, TOTTOV ISiaiTov, the place of the private person.
The elders they sat by themselves,2 then others that were more learned,
then the ignorants ; the church herein following the custom of the
synagogue, which (as the author of the Comment upon the Epistles,
that goeth under the name of Ambrose, observeth) was wont to place
the elders in chairs, the next in rank on benches, the novices at their
feet on mats ; 3 and thence came the phrase of * sitting at the feet ' of
any one for a disciple, as it is said Paul was ' brought up at the feet
of Gamaliel/ And for the women, Grotius telleth us, that the first
place was given to the widows of one man, then to the virgins, then
to the matrons.4 Now, because they assigned these places preposter
ously, out of a regard of wealth rather than grace, and said to the
rich, ' Sit thou here, /caXco?, honourably/ and to the poor, however
qualified, ' Stand thou there, or sit at my feet/ the place of learners
and idiots, the apostle doth with such severity tax the abuse, to wit,
their carnal partiality in distributing the honours of the church.
Thus you see the context will go on smoothly. But I must not limit
the text to this one use of the court or synagogue ; and therefore, if
we take in the other uses of deciding all causes and differences be
tween the members of the Church, &c., every passage in the context
will have its full light and explication ; for the apostle speaketh of
judging, and of such respect of persons as is condemned by the law,
ver. 9, which is an accepting of persons in judgment, Lev. xix. 5.
And therefore I understand this synagogue of an assembly met to do
justice. In which thought I am confirmed by the judgment and

conveniebant Christian! ut justis legibus et arbitris domesticas vel politicas communesque
lites dirimerent.' — Hevar. in loc.

1 ' Nee sane, quantum arbitror, putandum est leve ease peccatum in personarum accep-
tione habere fidem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, si illam distantiam sedendi ac standi ad
honores ecclesiasticos referamus ; quis enim ferat eligi divitem ad sedem honoris ecclesisB,
contempto paupere instructiore atque sanctiore.' — Aug. Epist. 29.

2 ' President probati quique seniores, honoremistum non pretio sed testimonio adepti.'
— Tertul. in Apol.

3 ' Synagogse traditio est ut sedentes disputent, seniores dignitate in cathedris, sequentes
in subselliis, novissimi in pavimento super mattas.' — Ambros. in primam ad Cor.

4 ' Primus locus viduis univiris, proximus virginibus, deinde matronis.' — Grot, in loc.

JAS. II. 2-4.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. • 187

reasons of a late learned writer,1 who proveth that it was the fashion
of the Jews to keep court in their synagogues ; and therefore do we
so often read those phrases. Mat. x. 17, ' They shall scourge you in
their synagogues ;' Acts xxii. 19, ' Beaten in every synagogue ;' Acts
xxvi. 11, * I punished them in every synagogue,' because, as he saith,
where sentence was given, there justice was executed ; and it is pro
bable that, being converted to Christianity, they still held the same
course. And it is very notable, which he quoteth out of Maimonides'
Sanhedrim, cap. 21, ' That it is expressly provided by the Jews'
constitutions, that when a poor man and a rich plead together, the
rich shall not be bidden to sit down, and the poor stand, or sit in a
worse place, but both sit, or both stand : ' which is a circumstance
that hath a clear respect to the phrases used by the apostle here ; and
the rather to be noted, because our apostle writeth to ' the twelve
tribes/ Hebrews by nation, with whom these customs were familiar
and of known use. So that out of all we may collect that the syna
gogue here spoken of is not the church assembly, but the ecclesiastical
court or convention for the decision of strifes, wherein they were not
to favour the cause of the rich against the poor ; which is an expli
cation that cleareth the whole context, and preventeth the incon
veniences of the received exposition, which so far pleadeth the cause
of the poor as to deny civility and due respect to the rich and
honourable in Christian assemblies.

A man with a gold ring, xpvaoSaKTv^Los, l a gold-fingered man,'
that is the force of the original word. The gold ring was a badge of
honour and nobility ; therefore Judah had his signet, Gen. xxxviii.
18-25 ; and Pharaoh, as a token that Joseph was promoted to honour,
' took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's, and arrayed
him in vestures of fine linen/ Gen. xlii. So Ahasuerus dealt with
Mordecai, Esther viii. 8.

In goodly apparel — This also was a note of dignity : Gen.
xxvii. 15, ' Rebecca took the goodly garment of her son Esau ; ' by
which some understand 2 the gorgeous priestly ornaments which be
longed to him as having the birthright. So when the prodigal
returned, the father, to do him honour, calleth for the best robe and
a ring ; some marks and ornaments of honour which were put on
upon solemn days. But the luxury of after-times made the use more
common. It is said of the rich man in the Gospel, Luke xvi. 19,
that he was ' clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared deliciously
every day.'

A poor man in vile raiment. — In the original, ej-dfjTi pvTrapa, 'filthy,
sordid raiment ; ' it is the same word which the Septuagint use in
Zech. iii. 3, 4, where mention is made of the high priest's ' filthy
garments/ which was a figure of the calamitous state of the church ;
where the Septuagint have Ij^dria pvirapd.

And you have respect to him that iveareth the gay clothing.-—
'E7ri(3\e7r€iv is to gaze and observe with some admiration and special
reverence.

1 Herbert Thorndike, in his book of the Right of the Church in a Christian State,
printed at London, 1649. See pp. 38, 39.

2 Lightfoot in Gen.

188 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 2-4.

Sit thou here in a good place, /eaXw?, ' in an honourable or worthy
place ; ' and so it noteth, either the rash disposal of the honours of
the church into their hands, or the favouring of them in their cause,
as before.

Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool. — Expressions of con
tempt and disrespect. Standing or sitting at the feet was the
posture of the younger disciples. Sometimes standing is put for
those that stood upon their defence ; as Ps. cxxx. 3, ' If thou shouldst
mark what is done, who can stand ? ' that is, in curia, in court, as
those that make a bold defence. So Eph. vi. 13, ' Take the armour
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and when
you have done all, to stand ; ' that is, before God's tribunal : it is an
allusion to the posture of men in courts. This different respect
of poor and rich bringeth to my mind a passage of Bernard, who,
when he chanced to espy a poor man meanly apparelled, he would say
to himself, Truly, Bernard, this man with more patience beareth his
cross than thou : but if he saw a rich man delicately clothed, then he
would say, It may be that this man, under his delicate clothing, hath
a better soul than thou hast under thy religious habit. An excellent
charity, and a far better practice than theirs in the text, who said to
him in the goodly raiment, ' sit/ to the poor, ' stand.' To the rich
they assigned ' a good place/ but to the poor the room ' under the
footstool/

Are ye not partial in yourselves? — This clause is severally ren
dered, because of the different significations of the word SiaKpiOfjre.
Some turn it without an interrogation, thus, ' Ye were not judged in
yourselves, but,' &c. ; as if the sense were — Though they were not
judged themselves, yet they judged others by these inevident signs.
But it is better with an interrogation ; and yet then there are different
readings. Some thus, ' Are ye not condemned in yourselves ? ' that
is, do not your own consciences fall upon you ? Certainly the
apostle applieth the fact to their consciences by this vehement and
rousing question ; but I think SiatcpidriTe must not be here rendered
condemned. Others thus, ' Have ye not doubted or questioned the
matter in yourselves ? ' for that is another sense of the word in the
text. But here it seemeth most harsh and incongruous. Another
sense of the word is, to make a difference ; so it is often taken :
Sicucpivo^evoi, ' making a difference/ Jude 22 ; ovSev Sietcplve, ' He put
no difference/ Acts xv. 9 ; and so it may be fitly rendered here,
' Have ye not made a difference ? ' that is, an unjust difference, out of
carnal affection, rather than any true judgment. And therefore, for
more perspicuity, we explain, rather than interpret, when we render,
Are ye not partial ? It is an appeal to their consciences in making
such a difference : Are ye not counterpoised with perverse respects ?
Many times we may know the quality of an action by the verdict of
conscience. Is not this partiality ? Doth not conscience tell you it is
making a difference which God never made ? Sins directly dispro
portionate to our profession are against conscience, and in such
practices the heart is divided. There are some disallowing thoughts
which men strive to smother.

And become judges of evil thoughts. — From the running of the

JAS. II. 2-4.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

words in our translation, I should have guessed the sense to be this,
That by these outward appearances of meanness and greatness in the
world, they judged of men's hearts ; which is here expressed by what
is most transient and inward in the heart, the thoughts. But this
Kpiral ^idko^io-^wv irov^pwv, is to be taken in quite another sense. l
The meaning is, you altogether judge perversely, according to the rule
of your own corrupt thoughts and intentions. Their esteem and their
ends were not right, but perverted by carnal affections. They esteemed
outward pomp above spiritual graces, which was contrary to reason
and religion ; and they proposed to themselves other ends than men
should do in acts of choice and judicature. They had men's persons
in admiration, because of advantage ; and did not weigh so much the
merits of the cause, as the condition of the persons contending.

From these verses, besides the things touched in the explication, you
may observe : —

Obs. 1. That men are marvellous apt to honour worldly greatness.
To a carnal eye nothing else is glorious. A corrupt judgment tainteth
the practice. A child of God may be guilty of much worldliness, but
he hath not a worldly judgment. David's heart went astray ; but his
judgment being right, that brought him about again, Ps. Ixxiii. : com
pare the whole psalm with the last verse, ' It is good for me to draw
nigh to God/ Moses' uprightness and love to the people of God
was from his esteem : Heb. xi. 26, ' Esteeming the reproach of Christ/
&c. When men have a right esteem, that will make them prize
religion, though shrouded under poor sorry weeds ; but when their
judgments and conceits are prepossessed and occupied with carnal
principles, nothing seemeth lovely but greatness, and exalted wicked
ness hath more of their respect than oppressed grace. But you will
say — May we not show honour and respect to men great in the world
if they are wicked ?

I answer — There is a respect due to the rich, though wicked ; but
if it be accompanied with a contempt of the mean servants of God, it
is such a partiality as doth not become grace. More particularly, that
you may not mistake in your respects to wicked men, take a direction
or two : — (1.) Great men in the world must have respect due to their
places, but the godly must have your converse and familiarity : ' My
delight is in the excellent of the earth/ Ps. xvi. 3. A Christian can
not delight in the converse of a wicked man so as he can in the children
of God ; besides that the object in the eye of grace hath more loveli
ness, there is the advantage of sweet counsels and spiritual commun
ion : ' Comforted by the mutual faith of you and me/ Kom. i. 12. (2.)
You must be sure not to be ashamed of the meanest Christians, to
vouchsafe all due respects to them. Onesimus was a mean servant,
yet, when converted, Paul counted him ' above a servant, as a brother/
Philem. 16. So the messengers of the churches are called ' the glory
of Christ,' 2 Cor. viii. 23, such as Christ will boast of. Christ is
ashamed of none but those that are ashamed of him : it is glory enough
in the eye of Christ and grace that they are holy. (3.) You must
own them for brethren in their greatest abasures and afflictions, as
Moses did the people of God, Heb. xi. 25. (4.) Be sure to drive on

1 ' Genetivus Lie non est objecti, sed attributi.' — Grot.

190 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 2-4.

no self-design in your respects ; be not swayed by a corrupt aim at
advantage : this will make us take Egyptians for Israelites, and per
versely carry out our esteem. It chiefly concerneth ministers to mind
this, that they may not gild a potsherd, and comply with wicked
men for their own gain and advantage : it is a description of false
teachers, 2 Peter ii. 3, ' Through covetousness they shall, with feigned
words, make merchandise of you : ' they apply themselves to those
among whom they may drive on the trade best ; not to the saints, but
to the rich, and soothe up them ; where there is most gain, not where
most grace : Hosea vii. 3, ' They made the rulers glad with their lies.'
Obs. 2. From that are ye not partial f He urgeth them with a
question. To bring us to a sense of things, it is good to put questions
to our consciences, because then we do directly return upon our own
souls. Soliloquies and discourses with yourselves are of excellent ad
vantage : Ps. iv. 4, ' Commune with your own hearts, and be still/
It is a hard matter to bring a man and himself together, to get him
to speak a word to himself. There are many that live in the world
for a long time — some forty or fifty years — and all this while they
cannot be brought to converse with their own hearts. This question
ing of conscience will be of use to you in humiliation, faith, and
obedience. (1.) In your humbling work. There are several questions
proper to that business, as in the examination of your estate, when
you bring your ways and the commandment together, which is the
first rise of humiliation : you will find the soul most awakened by
asking of questions. Oh! 'what have I done?' Jer. viii. 6. Do
I walk according to the tenor of this holy law ? Can I say, ' My
heart is clean?' Prov. xx. 9. Then there is a second question: When
guilt is found out concerning the rigour of the law, and the sureness
of wrath, every violation is death : will God be partial for thy sake ?
* His jealousy shall smoke against that man that saith, I shall have
peace, though I walk in the way of mine own heart,' Deut. xxix. 19.
Then there are other questions about the dreadfulness of wrath : Ezek.
xxii. 14, * Can my heart endure, and my hands be made strong, in the
days that God shall deal with me ?' Shall I be able to bear up under
torments without measure and without end ? Can I dwell with those
devouring burnings ? Then there is a fourth question, after a way of
escape: 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' Acts xvi. 30;
or, as it is in the prophet, 'Wherewith shall I come before God?'
Micah vi. 8. With what recompense shall I appease his angry jus
tice ? Thus you see the whole business of humiliation is carried on
in these interrogative forms. (2.) For the work of faith, these ques
tions are serviceable, partly to quicken the soul to the consideration
of the offer of God ; as when the apostle had disputed of free justifi
cation, he enf orceth all by a question, ' What shall we then say to these
things ?' Kom. viii. 31 . Soul, what canst thou object and urge against
so rich mercies ? Paul, all the while before, had been but drawing
the bow,^ now he letteth fly the arrow. ' What shall we say ?' Partly
because it maketh us more sensible of the danger of not believing : Heb.
ii. 3, * How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation ? ' If I
neglect God's second offer, what will become of me ? Thus it is ;an
help to the work of faith. (3.) In the work of obedience these ques-

JAS. II. 2-4.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 191

tions are serviceable ; as when a temptation is like to carry it in the
soul, it is good to come in with a smart question : Gen. xxxix. 9, ' How
can I do this wickedness, and sin against God ? ' So if the heart drive
on heavily in duties of worship, ' Offer it now to the governor ; would
he accept it at my hands ? ' Mai. i. 8. Would I do thus to an earthly
prince in an earthly matter ? Thus you see questions are of singular
use in every part of the holy life. Be more frequent in them ; and in
every matter take occasion to discourse with your own souls.

Obs. 3. From that judges of evil thoughts. Evils begin first in the
thoughts: Mat. xv. 19, 'Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts;'
that is in the front of that black roll. Affections pervert the thoughts,
and thoughts stain the judgment. Therefore, when God would
express the wickedness of the old world, he saith, ' The imagination
of their thoughts were evil,' Gen. vi. 5. The reason of atheism is
blasphemy in the thoughts : Ps. x. 4, ' All their thoughts are that
there is no God.' The reason of worldliness is some wretched
thought that is hidden in the bosom : Ps. xlix. 11, ' Their inward
thought is that their houses shall continue for ever/ You see, then,
there is reason why you should go to God to cleanse your spirits
from evil thoughts, why you should be humbled under them, why
you should watch against them : Isa. Iv. 7, ' Let the wicked man
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return
unto the Lord/ Mark, not only his way, but his thoughts. Trace
every corrupt desire, every inordinate practice, till you come up to
some inward and hidden thought. There are implicit thoughts, and
thoughts explicit : explicit are those that are impressed upon the
conscience, and are more sensible ; implicit are those which the scrip
ture calleth ' hidden thoughts,' and the ' sayings of the heart/
Though the desires, purposes, actions, are according to them, yet we
do not so sensibly discern them ; for they are so odious, that they
come least in sight. Many such there are ; as this was the hidden
thought implied in the text, that wealth is to be preferred before
grace ; and that made them judge so perversely. It is good therefore
to wait upon the word, which ' discovereth the thoughts and intents
of the heart/ Heb. iv. 12, that upon every experience you may refer
things to their proper head and cause : sure there hath been a vile
thought in me, that there is no God ; that the world is for ever ; that
riches are better than grace ; that the pleasures of sin are better than
the hopes of life, &c. It is good to interpret every action, and to
observe the language that is couched in it ; your lives do but speak
out these thoughts.

Ols. 4. That this is an evil thought, that men are to be valued by
their outward excellency. It is against the dispensation of God, who
putteth the greatest glory upon those that are of least account and
esteem in the world. It is against the nature of grace, whose glory
is not sensible, obvious to the senses, but inward and hidden :^ Ps.
xlv. 13, ' The king's daughter is all glorious within/ A Christian's
inside is best ; all the world's glory is in show, fancy, and appearance :
Agrippa and Bernice 'came with great pomp,' Acts xxv. 23, pera
7roA7v% (fxivTaa-ias, with much show and fancy. Painted things have
a greater show with them than real. Nazianzen saith, the world is

192 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 5.

Helena without, and Hecuba within : there is nothing answerable to
the appearance ; but now grace is under a veil, ' it doth not appear
what we shall be,' 1 John iii. 2. Thus Cant. i. 6, the church is said
to be ' black, but comely ;' full of spiritual beauty, though outwardly
wretched, and deformed" with afflictions ; which is there expressed by
two similitudes, like ' the tents of Kedar, and the curtains of Solomon/
The tents of Kedar : the Arabians lived in tents, which were but
homely and slender in comparison of city buildings, obscure huts,
sullied and blacked with the weather, but rich within, and full of
costly utensils ; therefore we hear of ' the glory of Kedar/ Isa.
xxi. 16. And Solomon's curtains may possibly signify the same thing.
Josephus saith, Solomon had Babylonian curtains, of a baser stuff
and work, to hide the curious imagery that was carved on the marble
walls. The greatest glory is within the veil : ' The hidden man of
the heart' is an ornament ' of great price,' 1 Peter iii. 4. And as it is
against the nature of grace, so it is against all right reason : we do
not use to judge so in other cases : we do not prize a horse for the gaudry
of his saddle and trappings, but for his strength and swiftness. That
painter was laughed at who, because he could not draw Helena fair,
drew her rich. We do not therefore judge it a good sword because
it hath a golden belt. Well, then, if it be against providence, and
grace, and reason, go by a wiser rule in valuing things and persons
than outward excellency : do not think that faith best which the ruler
professeth, John vii. 48, nor those persons best that glitter most with
worldly lustre. Christ cometh often in a disguise to us, as well as the
Jews — to us in his poor members.

Ver. 5. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he ha*h
promised to them that love him ?

In this verse the apostle urgeth another argument against respect
of persons : you will despise those whom God, out of his wise ordina
tion, hath called to the greatest honour. He instanceth in a threefold
dignity which the Lord putteth upon the godly poor : they are elected
of God, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom.

Hearken, my beloved brethren. — He exciteth their attention, and still
giveth them the loving compellation which he had formerly used. In
all grave and weighty matters, it is usual in the scripture to preface
and premise some craving of attention : ' He that hath an ear to
hear let him hear/ Mat. xiii. 9 ; so James in the council of Jerusalem :
Acts xv. 13, ' Men and brethren, hearken unto me.' Here the^apostle
useth this preface, partly to stir them up to consider the dispensation
proper to that age. So 1 Cor. i. 26, ' Behold your calling, brethren,
not many wise, not many mighty/ &c. ; that is, seriously consider the
matter of God's calling in these times. Partly because he is about
to urge a warm argument against the perverseness of their respects,
and when the matter concerneth our case, it calleth for our best
attention.

Hath not God chosen ? that is, by the special designment of grace
he hath singled out the poor to be heirs of life. You will find it so
always, for the most part, but in those times especially. Partly to
confute the pride of great persons, as if God should respect them for

JAS. II. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 193

their outward dignity. The first choice that God made in the world
was of poor men ; and therefore do we so often read that the poor re
ceived the gospel ; not only the poor in spirit, but the poor in purse.
God chose fishermen to preach the gospel, and poor persons to receive
it : few were won that were of any rank and quality in the world ;
and partly that we might not think that wonderful increase and
spreading of the gospel to come to pass by the advantage of human
power, fleshly aids and props, but by the virtue of divine grace.

The poor of the world; that is, in regard of outward enjoyments:
1 Tim. vi. 17, there he speaketh of ' the rich of this world.' There
is another world that hath its riches, but they that have estate there
are usually poor and despicable. The saints are described to be those
that have not their hopes in this world, 1 Cor. xv. 19, or poor in
this world ; that is, in the opinion of the present world they are vile
and abject.

Eicli in faith. — So they may be said to be two ways : Either in
regard of high measures and raised degrees of faith ; as Abraham
was said to be ' strong in faith/ Kom. iv. 20, or that woman, Mat. xv. 28,

* 0 woman ! great is thy faith.' So when the apostle presseth them
to a spiritual abundance in gifts and graces, he saith, Col. iii. 1G,

* Let the word of God dwell in you, 7rA,ofo-/&)?, richly.' Or rich, in op
position to worldly poverty, as noting the recompense that is made up
to them for their outward poverty in their hopes and privileges. And
mark, God is said to ' choose rich in faith ;' that is, ' to be rich in faith/
It is such am expression as is used Kom. viii. 29, 'He hath chosen
us like his Son ;' that is, ' to be like his Son ;' which is plainly averred
by the apostle, Eph. i. 4, ' He hath chosen us in him that we might
be holy :' not because we are good, but that we might be good. This
place cannot be urged for the foresight of faith ; for as he chose us
rich in faith, so he chose us heirs of glory : and therefore it doth not
note the reason of God's choice, but the end ; not that they were so,
but that they might be so.

Heirs of the kingdom. — Glory is often set out by a kingdom, and
the faithful as princes under years.

Which he hath promised. — Promises of this nature are everywhere :
Prov. viii. 17, ' I love them that love me ;' so Exod. xx. 6, ' Showing
mercy to thousands of them that love me/

To them that love him. — Why this grace is specified, see the reasons
alleged in the explication and notes of the 12th verse of the first
chapter. Only observe the order used by the apostle ; first he placeth
election, then faith, then love.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. That oftentimes God choose th the poor of this world. The
lion and the eagle are passed by, and the lamb and the dove chosen for
sacrifice. The gospel, that was * hidden from the wise and prudent,
was revealed to babes,' Mat. xi. 25. This God doth, partly to show
the glory of his power in preserving them, and truth amongst them,1

1 ' Adverte cceleste consilium : non sapientes aliquos, non divites, non nobiles, sed
piscatores et publicanos, quos dirigeret, elegit ; ne traduxisse poteniia, redemisse divitiis,
nobilitatisque auctoritate traxisse aliquos videretur, et veritatis ratio, non disputationis
gratia, praevaleret. — Ambr. in Luc,, cap. 6, sec. 3.

VOL. IV. N

194 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 5.

that were not upheld by worldly props. The church is called ' the
congregation of the poor/ Ps. Ixxiv. 19 ; a miserable sort of men, that
were destitute of all worldly advantages. Usually he showeth his
power by using weak means. Moses' hand was made leprous before
it wrought miracles, Exod. iv. Jericho was blown down with rams'
horns, and Goliah slain with a sling and a stone. Partly because
God would show the riches of his goodness in choosing the poor. All
must now be ascribed to mercy. At the first God chose the worst
and the poorest, which was an argument that he was not moved with
outward respects; the most - sinful and the most obscure,1 'that all
flesh might glory in the Lord/ 1 Cor. i. 28. A thief was made the
delight of paradise, and Lazarus taken into Abraham's bosom. Those
that had not the least pretence of glorying in themselves are invited
to grace. Partly because God would discover his wisdom by making
up their outward defects by this inward glory. Levi, that had no por
tion among his brethren, had the Lord for his portion. God is
wanting to no creature ; the rich have somewhat, and the poor have
' the favour of his people/ Ps. cvi. 4, special mercies. The buyers,
and sellers, and money-changers were whipped out of the temple ; the
rich have least interest there. Partly that the members might be
conformed to the head, the saints to Christ, in meanness and suffering:
Zech. ix. 9, ' Thy king coraeth unto thee poor.' Partly because pov
erty is a means to keep them upright ; riches are a great snare. The
moon is never eclipsed but when it is at the full. Certainly God's
people are then in most danger. They say the sun never moveth
slower than when it is highest in the zodiac. Usually men are
never more flat in duty and dead in service than when mounted high
in worldly advantages. A pirate never setteth upon an empty vessel:
the devil is most busy in the fulness of our sufficiency. Those that
were taken up with the pleasantness of the country, and saw it fit for
sheep, would not go into Canaan. The disciples pleaded, ' Lord, we
have left all things, and followed thee ;' as if the keeping of an estate,
and the keeping of Christ were hardly compatible. Well, then — (1.)
You that are poor, bless God ; it is all from mercy that God should
look upon you. It is a comfort in your meanness ; rejected by the
world, chosen by God. He that is happy in his own conscience
cannot be miserable by the judgment of others : Isa. Ivi. 3, 4, ' Let not
the eunuch say, I am a dry tree ; for I will give him an everlasting
name.' Be not discouraged, though outwardly mean. The poor man
is known to God by name : Luke xvi., he hath a proper name, Lazarus ;
whereas the rich man is called by an appellative name. Among
men it is^ otherwise. Divitum nomina sciuntur, pauperum nesciuntur,
saith Cajetan. However we forget the poor, we will be sure to re
member the rich man's name and title. (2.) You that are rich,
consider this is not the favour of God's people ; be not contented with
common bounty. You may have an estate, and others may have
higher privileges. As Luther,2 profess that you will not be contented

^Noluit prius eligere senatores, sed piscatores, magna artificis misericordia ! Sciebat
enim quia si eligeret senatorem, diceret senator, dignitas mea electa est, &c. Et paulo
post. — Da mihi, in quit, istum piscatorem, veni tu pauper, sequere me, nihil babes, nihil
nosti, sequere me.' — Aug. Ser. xix. de Verb. Dom.

2 ' Valde protestatus sum me nolle sic ab eo satiari.' — Luth.

JAS. II. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 195

so ; you will not be quiet till you have the tokens of his special
mercy.

Obs. 2. There are poor in this world, and poor in the world to
come. Dives, that fared deliciously every day, and was clothed in fine
linen, yet wanted a drop to cool his tongue. Desideravit guttam,
saith Austin, qui non dedit micam ; he wanted a drop, that would not
give a crumb : Isa. Ixv. 13, 14, ' Behold my servants shall eat, but ye
shall "be hungry ; behold my servants shall drink, but ye shall be
thirsty : they shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed.' Ye are left to
your choice, to be rich in this world, but poor in the world to come ;
though here you swim and wallow in a sea of pleasures, yet there you
may want a drop to cool your tongue.

Obs. 3. The poor of this world may be spiritually rich. The apostle's
riddle is made good, 2 Cor. vi. 10, ' As having nothing, yet possessing
all things ; ' nothing in the world, and all in faith.

Obs. 4. Faith maketh us truly rich ; it is the open hand of the soul, to
receive all the bounteous supplies of God. If we be empty and poor,
it is not because God's hand is straitened, but ours is not opened. A
man may be poor notwithstanding the abundance of wealth: it putteth
a difference between you and others for a while, but in the grave ' the
poor and the rich meet together/ Job iii. 19 ; that is, are all in the
same estate without difference. In the charnel-house all skulls are
in the same case, not to be distinguished by the ornaments or abasures of
temporal life. It is grace alone that will make you to excel for ever.
Nay, riches cannot make you always to differ in this world : ' They take
to themselves wings, and fly away/ Prov. xxiii. 5. Well, then, you
that are poor, do not envy others' plenty ; you that are rich, do not
please yourselves in these enjoyments. Istce divitice nee verce sunt, nee
vestrce — they are neither true riches, neither can you always call them
your own.

Obs. 5. The Lord loveth only the godly poor. There are a wicked
poor whose hearts are ignorantly stubborn, whose lives are viciously
profane. Christ saith, ' Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom
of God/ Luke vi. 20. In the evangelist Matthew it is explained,
1 Blessed are the poor in spirit/ Mat. v. 3. David saith, ' The ab-
jects gathered themselves against me/ Ps. xxxv. 15. Many times
men of that quality are malignant opposites to the children and cause
of God, saucy dust, that will be flying in the faces of God's people ;
and their rage is the more fierce because there is nothing of know
ledge, politic restraints, and civil or ingenuous education, to break the
force of it.

Obs. 6. All God's people are heirs ; they are heirs, they are but heirs.
They are heirs ; that cometh to them by virtue of their sonship : Kom.
viii. 17, ' If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ/ Jesus Christ was the natural son and the natural heir ; and
we, being adopted sons, are adopted heirs. He is called, Heb. i. 2,
' the heir of all things ; ' and he hath invested us with his own privi
leges. Do but consider what an heir a child of God is, one that is
received into the same privileges with Christ ; and therefore the apostle
saith, he is a ' joint-heir.' In a spiritual manner, and as we are capable,
we shall possess the same glory that Christ doth. Again, they are

196 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 5.

heirs whose right is indefeasible. Men may appoint heirs, and alter
their purpose, especially concerning adopted heirs; but God never
changeth. In assurance of it we have earnest, 2 Cor. i. 22, and we
have first-fruits, Kom. viii. 23. We have earnest to show how sure,
we have first-fruits to show how good, our inheritance is ; a taste how
good, and a pledge how sure. Well, then, you that have tasted of
the grapes of Eshcol, have had any sense of your adoption, you may
be confident God will never alter his purposes of love. Again, they
are heirs that not only look to inherit the goods of their heavenly
Father, but his person. God doth not only make over heaven to you,
but himself : ' I will be your God ; ' quantus quantus est, God is yours.
So Ps. xvi. 5, ' The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.' Again,
they are heirs that possess by1 their father's lifetime. Men give their
estates to us when they can possess them no longer. But this is our
happiness, that God and we possess it together ; and therefore it is
said, ' glorified with him.' Again, they are heirs to an estate that
will not be diminished by the multitude of co-heirs. Many a fair
stream is drawn dry by being dispersed into several channels ; but
here, the more the greater the privilege. What a happiness is it to
enjoy God among all the saints ! They ' shall sit down with Abra
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob.' We may jointly inherit without envy.
The company is a part of the blessing: it is one of the apostle's
motives, * Ye are come to an innumerable company of saints and
angels/ Heb. xii. 22, 23. It was a foolish question, that, ' Who shall be
greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? ' Mat. xviii. ; for when God is all in
all, he will fill up every vessel. Such a question suiteth with our present
state ; but in glory, as there is no sin to provoke such curiosity, so
there is no want to occasion it. They are but heirs : alas ! now they
groan and wait for the adoption, Eom. viii. 23, that is, for the full en
joyment of the privileges of it. So 1 John iii. 2, * We are the sons
of God, but it doth not appear what we shall be ; ' we have a right,
but not full possession. Hope cannot conceive what the estate will
be when it cometh in hand. There is much goodness laid out, but
more laid up, Ps. xxxi. 19. It is observable that all Christian pri
vileges are spoken of in scripture as if they did not receive their ac
complishment till the day of judgment. I have spoken already of
adoption, that the saints wait for it. For justification, then, we shall
know the comfort of it ; when Christ, in his solemn and most imperial
day, in the midst of the triumph of his justice, shall remember only
the services, and pass by the sins, of the faithful. Then shall we know
the meaning of that promise, ' I am he that f orgiveth your iniquities,
and will remember your sins no more.' Our comfort now is mixed,
and we are often harassed with doubts and fears ; but when our par
don is solemnly proclaimed before all the world, then shall we indeed
know what it is to be absolved. Therefore the scripture speaketh as
if an act for our justification were only passed then : Acts iii. 19, * Ke-
pent, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord.' And possibly that may
be the reason of that expression that intimateth forgiveness of sins
in the world to come : Mat. xii. 32, ' It shall never be forgiven, in this

1 Qu. 'in ' or ' during ' ?— ED.

JAS. II. 5.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 197

world, or in the world to come ; ' i.e., an act of pardon can neither
now be really passed, or then solemnly declared. So for redemption :
we shall not understand that privilege till we are redeemed from death
and the grave, and have a full and final deliverance from all evils ;
therefore we are said to ' wait for the redemption of our bodies/ Kom.
viii. 23, and ' lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh/
Luke xxi. 28. And that possibly may be the reason why the apostle,
when he numbereth up the fruits of our union with Christ, he putteth
redemption last, 1 Cor. i. 30. Here we have righteousness, wisdom,
grace, but in the world to come we have redemption ; therefore, the
day of the Lord is called ' the day of redemption/ Eph. iv. 30. So
also for union with Christ; it is begun here, but so often inter
rupted, that it is rather an absence than a union : 2 Cor. v. 6, ' Whiles
we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.' The apostle
speaketh so, because we do not so freely enjoy the comforts of his pre
sence. So Phil. i. 23, ' I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ ;'
a Christian is with Christ here, but rather without him. Then shall
we know what it is to be with him, when we shall in body and soul
be translated into heaven, and be always in his eye and presence. So
for sanctification : there is so much of the old nature remaining, that
there is scarce anything of the new ; and therefore the day of judg
ment is called TrdXiyyevea-la, the regeneration/ Mat. xix. 28 ; that is,
the time when all things are made new, when we come to be settled
in our everlasting state ; and that may be the occasion of the apostle's
expression, 1 Thes. iii. 13, ' Sanctified at Christ's coming.' Thus you
see, in all points of Christian privilege, we are, though heirs, yet but
heirs. Well, then, you that ' have the first-fruits of the Spirit/ come
and rejoice in your hopes : ' Behold what manner of love the Father
hath showed you ! ' 1 John iii. 1. We were strangers, yet we are
made sons — nay, heirs ; we were of low degree — it may be poor, beg
garly in the world — yet have we this egova-lav, this dignity put upon
us, to be chosen to the fairest kingdom that ever was and will be,
John i. 12. We were enemies, rebellious as well as despicable, yet
still heirs : from ' children of wrath/ made ' heirs of glory.' God
needed not such an adoption ; he had a Son who is called his delight
and rejoicing before all worlds, Prov. viii. 31, and yet he would make
thee, that wast a stranger to his family, a rebel to his crown, so base
in the world, a joint-heir with his only Son. Oh ! what love and
thankfulness should this beget in us ! Every person of the Godhead
showeth his love to us ; the Father he adopteth us : ' Behold what
manner of love the Father/ &c. ; the Son for a while resigneth and layeth
aside his honour— nay, dieth, to purchase our right, Gal. iv. 6; and
' the Spirit witnesseth that we are the sons of God/ Kom. viii. 15.
Oh ! adore the love of the Trinity with high and raised thoughts.
Consider what a comfort here is against all the discouragements and
abasures that we meet with in the world ; princes in disguise are
often slighted, and the heirs of heaven are made the world's reproach.
But why should you be dejected ? 2 Sam. xiii. 4, ' Why art thou so
lean from day to day ? art not thou the king's son ? ' Are not you
heirs of the kingdom of glory ? And, by the way, here is some advice
to the world : Do not contemn the meanest that are godly — they are

198 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 5.

heirs ; every one worshippeth the rising sun, and observeth the heir.
Oh ! make you friends of them, they will stead you another day : Luke
xvi. 9, 'Make you friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that,
when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations ; ' that
is, with that wealth, which is usually abused to sin, make you friends
of the poor godly saints ; they with Christ shall judge the world, 1
Cor. vi. 2. Make them friends, that they may give their suffrage to
you, and receive you into heavenly joys. A main thing that Christ
taketh notice of at the day of judgment, is this : * Thus have ye done
to one of my naked brethren,' Mat. xxv. 40.

Obs. 7. That the faithful are heirs to a kingdom. Heaven and
glory is often set out to us under that notion. You have places every
where. Kingdoms are for kings ; and every saint is a spiritual king :
Eev. i. 6, 'He hath made us kings and priests unto God his Father.'
Suitable to which expression it is said, 1 Peter ii. 9, that we are ' a
royal priesthood.' These two dignities are joined together, because
heretofore their kings were priests ; and the heads of the families were
the priests of it. Cohen signifieth both a prince of Midian and a priest
of Midian. But to return. They are kings because of that spiritual
power they have over themselves, sin, Satan, and the world ; and be
cause they are kings, therefore their glory must be a kingdom. Again,
Christ is a king, and therefore they are kings, and his kingdom is their
kingdom. Being united to Christ, they are possessed of his royalty.
Again, there is a very great resemblance between the glory we expect
and a kingdom : Luke xii. 32, ' Fear not, little flock ; it is your Father's
pleasure to give you a kingdom/ It is called a kingdom in regard of
its splendour, festivity, and glory. That is the highest excellency and
note of a difference amongst men. And also in regard of attendants ;
angels are ' ministering spirits/ Heb. i. 14. They are so already ; but
there they are as porters standing at the twelve gates of our city, Rev.
xxi. 12. Nay, Christ himself will gird himself, and serve those whom
he findeth watching at his second coming, Luke xii. 37. And it is a
kingdom in regard of power and dominion. ' All things are theirs/
1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. They ' shall judge the world/ 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3 ; yea,
the evil angels. And also in regard of abundance of content and
satisfaction. There is ' fulness of pleasures for evermore/ Ps. xvi. 11.
All these things concur to make it a kingdom. It is a state of the
highest honour and glory, great pleasure and contentment, noble
attendants, vast dominion. To all these you may add the great
liberty and freedom which we shall enjoy from sins and troubles. We
shall be above the control of Satan, and the opposition of a vile heart.
Oh ! then, we that expect these things, ' what manner of persons ought
we to be?' The apostle hath an exhortation suitable to this pur
pose: l^Thes. ii. 11, 12, ' Walk worthy of God, that hath called you
to his kingdom.' Live as kings for the present, commanding your
spirits, judging your souls, above ordinary pursuits — it is not for
eagles to catch flies ; above ordinary crosses — cogita te Ccesarem esse.
Eemember thou shalt one day be a king with God in glory. Enter
upon thy kingdom by degrees : ' The kingdom of God is joy and
peace in the Holy Ghost/ Eom. xiv. 17. But now for others, who as yet
remain, at the best, but in an uncertain estate, it is a motive to press

JAS. II. 6.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 199

them to do what they can to interest themselves in these hopes : Mat.
xi. 12, ' The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence/ It is a kingdom,
and therefore men are so violent for it. Oh ! consider, it is for a
crown, and that will encourage you to all earnestness of pursuit. A
lazy wish, a drowsy prayer, is not enough.

06s. 8. That heaven is a kingdom engaged by promise. It is not
only good, to tempt your desires, but sure, to support your hopes. Look
upon it not only as a kingdom, but as a promised kingdom, and judge
him faithful that hath promised. None can comfort themselves in
these hopes but they that have interest in the promise. They can
plead with God for their own souls — We have thy word ; there is a
' promise wherein thou hast caused us to hope/ Ps. cxix. 49. Heaven
is not only prepared, but promised. You may not only have loose
hopes, but a steadfast confidence.

Obs. 9. That the promise of the kingdom is made to those that love
God. Love is the effect of faith, and the ground of all duty, and so
the best discovery of a spiritual estate. They do not believe that do
not love ; and they cannot obey that do not love. Look, then, to this
grace. Do you love God ? When promises have the condition spe
cified in them, we cannot take comfort in the promise till we are sure
of the condition. As Christ asked Simon Peter, ' Lovest thou me ? '
so commune with your own souls, Dost thou love God ? Nay, urge
the soul with it again, Dost thou indeed love God ? The effects and
products of love are many. Those which love God, love that which
is of God. As (1.) His glory. Their great desire and delight is to
honour him, that they may be any way serviceable to the glory of
God. The sin mentioned, 2 Tim. iii. 2, ' Lovers of themselves/ is the
opposite frame to this. When all that men do is with a self-respect,
they have little love to God. (2.) His commandments. I observed
before, that usually men love sin and hate the commandment. They
are vexed with those holy laws that thwart their corrupt desires.
Natural conscience impresseth a sense of duty, and vile affection
worketh a dislike of it. But now, 1 John v. 3, ' This is the love of
God, that his commandments are not grievous.' Duty is their delight,
and ordinances their solace : Ps. xxvi. 8, ' How have I loved the
habitation of thine house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth ! '
They will desire to be often in the company of God, to be there where
they may meet with him. (3.) His friends. They love Christians as
Christians, though otherwise never so mean. Love of the brethren is
made an evidence of great importance, 1 John iii. 14. By these dis
coveries may you judge yourselves.

Ver. 6. But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress
you, and draw you before the judgment-seats ?

Here the apostle endeavoureth to work them to a sense of their own
miscarriage. For, having proved respect of persons a sin, he falleth.
directly upon their consciences ; and you have been guilty of it, you
have despised the poor. And then, to show that their practice was
not only vain and evil, but mad and senseless, he urgeth a new argu
ment : ' Do not rich men oppress you ? ' He doth, in effect, ask them,
whether they would show so much honour to their executioners and
oppressors ? But you will say, Doth not the apostle herein stir them

200 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 6.

up to revenge ? and are we not * to love our enemies, and to do good
to them that hate us ' ? I answer — (1.) It is one thing to love enemies,
another to esteem them out of some perverse respect ; and there is a
difference between fawning and offices of humanity and civility.
(2.) Some have deserved so ill of the church, that they cannot chal
lenge the least civil respect from the people of God : 3 John 10, * Bid
him not God speed/ So 2 Kings iii. 14, ' Were it not for Jehosha-
phat, the king of Judah, I would not look towards thee, nor see thee/
(3.) The apostle doth not speak to the persons, but to the case. Will
you honour wealth, which is the visible cause of all mischief ? You
see that men of that rank and order are usually persecutors and blas
phemers. He speaketh of rich men in general, not such as used to
frequent the church and synagogue ; for otherwise you mistake the
apostle's argument if you think the words directed to the persons
rather than the order. His argument runneth thus : Will you prefer
men for wealth in the church, when you see that none are so mis
chievous, and such public enemies to the church, as those that are
wealthy ? To prove that wealth is no sufficient ground of Christian
respect, he urgeth the usual abuse of it.

But ye have despised the poor. — He showeth how contrary their
practice was to God's dispensation : God hath put honour upon them,
but ye dishonour them, as the original word signifieth. The prophet
expresseth such a like sin thus: Amos v. 11, ' Ye have trodden the
poor under foot/

Do not rich men. — Either he meaneth rich Pagans and Jews that
had not embraced Christianity, persecutions usually arising from men
of that sort and order, as the scribes, pharisees, and high priests :
' The chief men of the city were stirred up against Paul and
Barnabas/ Acts xiii. 50 ; or else pseudo-Christians, who, being great
and powerful, oppressed their brethren, and used all manner of
violence towards them. Or, rather, in general, any sort of rich men.

Oppress you. — The word is /caraSwao-Tevovo-i,, abuse their power
against you, or usurp a power over you which was never given them.
In which sense Solomon saith, Prov. xxii. 7, * The rich ruleth over
the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender/ Ruleth, that is,
arrogateth a power, though not invested with the honour of magis
tracy.

And draw you before the judgment-seats? — If it be understood of
the unconverted Jews, the meaning is, they helped forward the
persecution, and implieth the same with that, Mat. x. 17, * They
shall deliver you up to councils/ Or, if of rich men in the general, to
which I rather incline, it noteth the violent practices which they
used to the poor, dragging them, as they used to do with their
debtors : ' He plucked him by the throat,' Mat. xviii. 28. And the
prophet Isaiah expresseth the same cruelty by * smiting with the fist
of wickedness,' Isa. Iviii. 4. A great liberty the creditor had over the
debtor among the Jews, and that our apostle intimateth in the word
eX/cowi, 'they draw you;' and when he addeth 'before judgment-
seats/ he aggravateth this wickedness that was now grown customary
among them ; which was not only violent usage of the poor, but
oppressing them under a form of law: either wearing them out by

JAS. II. 6.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 201

vexatious suits, or defrauding them presently of their right, through
the favour which they obtained by their power and greatness, — a
practice common among all nations, but especially among the Jews,
and therefore is it everywhere noted in the scriptures. See Ps.
x. 9, 10.

The notes are these : —

Obs. 1. From that despised the poor. That known and apparent
guilt must be roundly charged. Nathan said to David, 2 Sam. xii.
7, ' Thou art the man/ When the practice is notorious, a faint
accusation doth no good. The prophet striketh David on the breast ;
this is thy sin. When a city is on fire, will a man come coldly and
say, Yonder is a great fire, I pray God it doth no harm ? No ; he
will cry, Fire, fire ; you are undone if you do not quench it. So
when the practice is open and clearly sinful, it is not good to come
with a contemplative lecture and lame homily, but to fall to the
case directly. Ye have despised the poor. Sirs, this is your sin, and
if you do not reform it, this will be you ruin. It is good to be a
little warm when the sin is common and the danger imminent.

Obs. 2. From that but you. He opposeth their practice to God's
dispensation; that despising the poor is a sin, not only against the
word and written will of God, but his mind and intent in his works
and dispensations. It is a kind of gigantomachy, a resisting of God.
(1.) It is against the mind of God in their creation : Prov. xxii. 2,
' The rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is the maker of them
both ; ' that is, they meet in this, that they have but one maker.
There is another meeting, Job iii. 15 ; they meet in the grave, they
meet in their death, and in their maker. Now God never made a
creature for contempt. These considerations should restrain it. They
were made as we were, and they die as we do. The poor man is
called our ' own flesh,' Isa. Iviii. 7 ; Adam's child, as we are. (2.) It
is against God's providence, — his common providence, who hath con
stituted this order in the world : Prov. xvii. 5, ' Whoso reproacheth
the poor despiseth his maker ;' that is, contemneth the wise dispensa
tion of God, who would have the world to consist of hills and valleys,
and the poor intermingled with the rich ; therefore Christ saith,
Mat. xxvi. 11, £ The poor you have always present with you.' It is one
of the settled constitutions and laws of providence, and it is necessary
for the uses and services of the world ; this preserveth order. There
are many offices and functions which human societies cannot want,
and therefore some men's spirits are fitted for handicrafts, and hard
manual labours, to which men of a higher spirit and delicate breeding
will not condescend. (3.) It is also against God's special providence,
by which many times the greatest gifts are bestowed upon them that
are poor and despicable in the world ; their wit being sharpened by
necessity, they may have the clearer use of reason. Naaman's servant
saw more than his master, 2 Kings v. 13 ; and Solomon telleth of ' a
poor man that delivered the city,'' Eccles. ix. 15. Nay, God many
times putteth that singular honour of being heirs of salvation upon
them. The poor are rich in faith in the context ; and then injury must
needs redound to him, for they are his friends and children; and
friends have all things common, both courtesies and injuries.

202 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 6.

Ols. 3. Kich men are usually persecutors or oppressors. Their
wickedness hath the advantage of an occasion. And usually when a
disposition and an occasion meet together, then sin is drawn forth
and discovered. Many have will, but have no power* The world
would be a common stage to act all manner of villanies upon, were it
not for such restraints of providence. Therefore Solomon maketh an
oppressing poor men to be a kind of wonder and prodigy. Besides,
riches exalt the mind, and efferate it. They have had little experience
of misery, and so have little pity. God's motives to Israel were these :
Do good to strangers, for thou wert a stranger ; and do good to the
poor, for thy father was a poor Syrian. Such reasonings are frequent
in scripture. But now, when men live altogether at ease, their hearts
are not meekened with a sense of the accidents and inconveniences of
the common life. And therefore, having power in their hands, they
use it, as beasts do their strength, in acts of violence. The prophet
often complaineth, Amos vi., of ' the excellency of Jacob/ and ' the
oppression that was in her palaces/ Again, wealth often endeth in
pride, and pride breaketh all common and moral restraints ; and so
men make their will a law, and think as if the rest of the world were
made to serve their pleasures. And besides, the world filleth their
hearts with a ravenous desire to have more of the world, how unjustly
soever it be purchased and gotten. You see the reason why they are
oppressors and they are persecutors, because commonly the meanest
are most forward in religion. The spirit of the world and the spirit
of Christ are at enmity. The gospel putteth men upon the same
level, which persons elevated and exalted cannot endure. Besides,
they are afraid that the things of Christ will bring some disturbance
to their worldly concernments and possessions. The Jewish rulers
were afraid of division among the people, and the coming in of the
Romans. The Gadarenes were afraid of their hogs. Many such
reasons might be given. Well, then, rich men should be more care
ful to avoid the sins that seem to cleave to their rank and order. It
is very hard, but ' with God all things are possible/ Wealth is called
'the mammon of unrighteousness/ Luke xvi. 9. because it is usually
the instrument and incentive of it. That of Jerome is harsh, but too
often true — Omnis dives aut iniquus est, aut iniqui limres — that every
rich man is either an oppressor himself, or the heir of one. Certainly it
is but almost impossible to be rich and righteous. There are many evils
incident to your state. Moral evils, such as heathens discerned, as
pride : ' Charge them that they be not high-minded/ 1 Tim. vi. 17.
Boasting, with some contempt of others : Jer. ix. 23, ' Let not the
rich man glory in his riches ; ' so injustice : Prov. xxii. 7, ' The rich
ruleth over the poor ; ' that is, by force and violence : the word
may be read, ' domineereth/ Then luxury and profuseness. Men
abuse the fatness of their portion, and lay it out upon their lusts.
Dives * fared deliciously every day/ But there are also spiritual
evils, which are worse, because they lie more closely and undiscerned.
These are — (1.) Forgetting of God, when he hath remembered them
most. Men that live at ease have little or no sense of duty. Agur
prayeth, ' Give me not riches, lest I be full, and deny thee/ Prov. xxx.
9. And (2.) creature-confidence. Hence those frequent cautions : 1

JAS, II. 7.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 203

Tim. vi. 17, * Trust not in uncertain riches ; ' and Ps. Ixii. 10, ' If
riches increase, set not your hearts upon them/ Usually the creatures
rival God ; and when we enjoy them in abundance, it is hard to keep
off the heart from trust in them. (3.) Worldliness. We are tainted
by the objects with which we usually converse ; and the more men
have, the more sparing for God's uses and their own. Solomon
speaketh of ' riches kept by the owners to their hurt/ Eccles. v. 13.
And there is an expression in the book of Job, chap. xx. 22, ' In the
fulness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits.' There is no greater
argument of God's curse than to have an estate and not to enjoy it.
So (4.) security : Luke xii. 19, * Soul, take thine ease, thou hast goods
laid up for many years.' These are evils that cleave to wealth, like
rust to money. I have but named them, because I would not digress
into illustrations.

Ver. 7. Do not theylilaspheme that worthy nameby wliich ye are called?

He proceedeth in reckoning up the abuses of riches. Who are the
enemies of God and of religion, the scorners of the worthy name of
Christians, but the rich ?

Do not they blaspheme. — Some interpret it of the carnal rich men
that professed religion, as if, by the scandal of their practices, they
had brought an odium and ill report upon Christianity itself. So that
' they blaspheme/ in their sense, is, 'they cause to blaspheme/ They
think it is an Hebraism, kal for hiphil. The whole stream of inter
preters run this way. They urge for it those parallel places : Rom.
ii. 24, ' Through you is the name of God blasphemed among the Gen
tiles ; ' and 2 Peter ii. 2, by them is ' the way of truth evil spoken
of ; ' that is, by their means. And that in the 1st epistle to Timothy,
chap. vi. 1, Let servants be obedient, ' that the name of God and his
doctrine be not blasphemed ; ' and Titus ii. 5, The wives should be
discreet and chaste, ' that the word of God be not blasphemed/ Cer
tainly religion is never more dishonoured than by the lives of carnal
professors. But this is the great mistake of this context, to apply
what is here spoken to rich Christians. The apostle only giveth an
observation of the manners of the rich men of that age ; they were
usually such as were bitter enemies to Christianity ; and thereupon
inferreth that wealth was not a valuable consideration in the church
to prefer men to places of rule and honour, or to further their cause
whenever it came into debate.

That worthy name, /ca\bv, ' honourable ; ' as before, ver. 3. —
/caXft)?, ' in a good place/ is, in the original, honourably.

By which ye are called. — In the original, TO eTriK\7)Qkv efi
vpas, 'which is called upon you;' and some interpret that thus,
' which you call upon.' It is made a description of Christians : 1 Cor.
i. 2, ' All that call upon the name of Christ ; ' and 2 Tim. ii. 18, ' Let
him that nameth the name of Christ.' Or else thus : Which is called
upon over you ; that is, in baptism, Mat. xxviii. 19, and Acts ii. 38.

name be called upon us ; ' or to children, as Gen. xlviii. 16, * Let my
name be called on them, and the name of my fathers,' &c. ; and so it

204 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 7.

implieth the name of Christ, which is put upon his people, who sus
tain these relations to him of spouse and children.

The notes are these : —

066'. 1. That wicked rich men, ahove all others, are most prone to
blasphemy. They ' set their hearts as the heart of God,' Ezek. xxviii.
5, 6. Eiches beget pride, and pride endeth in atheism. Besides,
they, enjoying a most liberal use of the creature, are apt to talk un
seemly. When their hearts are warmed and inflamed with wine and
mirth, they cannot contain, but must needs disgorge their malice upon
the ways and servants of Christ. The merry and full-fed Babylonians
must have a Hebrew song, Ps. cxxxvii. And it is no feast with
many unless John the Baptist's head be brought in a charger. Reli
gion, or religious persons, must be served in to feed their mirth and
sportiveness.

Obs. 2. They that love Christ will hate blasphemers. When he
would work them into a disesteem of these ungodly wretches, he saith,
* Do they not blaspheme that worthy name ? ' Moses burned with a
holy zeal when he heard that one had blasphemed God, Lev. xxiv. 13,
14. And David saith, Ps. cxxxix. 20-22, ' They speak against thee
wickedly ; thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them
that hate thee ? 1 hate them with a perfect hatred : I count them
mine enemies/ Love is tender of the least wrong done to the thing
beloved. More especially will it sparkle and burn with a fiery zeal when
such high contempt is cast upon it as blasphemy putteth upon Christ.
Those Gallios of our time, that can so tamely, and without any in
dignation, hear the worthy name of Christ profaned with execrable
blasphemies, show how little love they have to him. David counted
them his enemies that spoke wickedly against his God ; but such are
their darlings.

Obs. 3. That Christ's name is a worthy name. Christianity will
never be a disgrace to you ; you may be a disgrace to Christianity. ' I
am not ashamed/ saith the apostle Paul, ' of the gospel of Christ/
Eom. i. 16. Many are ashamed to own their profession in carnal com
pany, as if there could be any disgrace in being Christ's servant. Oh !
it is an honour to you. And as Christianity is an honour to you, so
should you be an honour to it, that you may not stain a worthy name :
'Adorn the gospel/ Titus ii. 10. The herd of wicked men they are
ignota capita, persons unknown and unobserved ; they may sin, and
sin again, yet the world taketh no notice of it. But how doth it fur
nish the triumphs of the uncircumcised to see men of a worthy name
overtaken in an offence ? The Hams of the world will laugh to see
a Noah drunk. Spots and stains in white are soon discerned.

Obs. 4. The people of Christ are named and called after Christ's
name ; Christians, from Christ. The apostle saith, Eph. iii. 15, * From
him the whole family, both in heaven and earth, is named/ The name
was first given them at Antioch, Acts xi. 26. They were called 'disciples'
before, but, to distinguish themselves from false brethren, they named
themselves ' Christians/ They were called ' Nazarites' and ' Galileans '
by their enemies ; and about this time there was a sect of that name,
half Jews and half Christians. Now the very name presseth us to
care and holiness. Eernember what Christ did : you are called after

JAS. II. 8.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 205

his name : 2 Tim. ii. 19, ' Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity : ' mi? o ovopafav, he that counteth it his
honour to use the name of Christ in invocation. Alexander the
Great said to one of his captains, that was also called Alexander,
Recordare nominis Alexandri — see you do nothing unworthy the
name of Alexander. So, see you do nothing unworthy the name of
Christ. And, as another said, speaking of something unbeseeming, I
could do it, if I were not Themistocles ; so, I could do it, if I were not
a Christian. Or, as Nehemiah, ' Should such a man as I flee ? ' Shall
I, that am named by the name of Christ, do this ? Again, this name
is an argument which you may use to God in prayer for grace and
mercy ; his name is upon you, that endeareth you to his bowels. God's
promises are made to such, ' If the people that are called by my name/
&c., 2 Chron. vii. 14. And so there is a notable promise, Deut.
xxviii. 10, ' And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art
called by the name of God, and they shall be afraid of thee/ So you
shall see the church pleading this, Jer. xiv. 9, ' Yet thou, 0 Lord, art
in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name ; leave us not.' So
may you go to God : Lord, it is thus with us, but ( we are called by
thy name/

Ver. 8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scriptures, Thou
shall love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.

Now he comes to discover the ground upon which they did thus
preposterously dispense their respects. It was not charity, as they did
pretend, but having men's persons in admiration, because of advantage.
For this verse is a prolepsis, or a prevention of an excuse foreseen,
which might be framed thus : That they were not to be blamed for
being too humble, and giving respect there, where it was least due ;
and that they did it out of relation to the common good, and a neces
sary observance of those ranks and degrees which God hath constituted
among men. The apostle supposeth this objection, and answereth it
partly by concession : if you do it in obedience to the second table
(the tenor of which the apostle expresseth by that general rule ' Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself '), then, such respect, rightly regu
lated, and ' according to the scriptures/ is but a duty ; partly by way
of conviction : your inordinate respect of the rich, with contempt of
the poor, is such a flattery and partiality which the law doth openly
condemn. The poor, and those whom we may help and relieve,
being in the law, or scripture-notion, as much, yea, rather more, the
neighbour than the rich.

If ye fulfil, reXetre. — If ye do squarely and roundly come up to the
obedience of the law, that part of it which is the rule of outward
respects. The word properly signifies, ' if ye perfectly accomplish/
Sincerity is a kind of perfection. The Papists, among other places,
bring this for one to show that a just man may fulfil the law of God.
In this place it only implies a sincere respect to the whole duty of the
law.

The royal law.— So he calleth it, either because God is the King of
kings, and Jesus Christ the King of saints, Kev. xv. 3 ; and so the
law, either in God's hands or Christ's hands, is a royal law, the least
deflection from which is rebellion. You would not easily break kings'

206 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 8.

laws. God's laws are royal laws because of the dignity of the author
of them. The Syriac interpreter favoureth this sense, for he trans-
lateth it ' the law of God ; ' or they may be called so from their own
worth : that which is excellent, we call it royal ; or else because of
its great power upon the conscience. Men's laws are but properly
ministerial and explicatory ; God's is royal and absolute. Or ' the
royal law/ to show the plainness and perspicuity of it, like ' a royal
way ; ' or, as we express it, ' the king's highway/ So it is said,
Num. xxi. 22, ' We will only go by the king s way/ Suitable to
which expression, ' the royal law ' may imply the highway and road of
duty. Or, lastly, a royal law, to note the ingenuity of its precepts.
The command of God, that is to guide you in dispensing your respects,
doth not oblige you to this servility ; the duty of it is more royal and
ingenuous.

According to the scriptures ; that is, as the tenor of it is often set
down in the word. The form here specified is often repeated, Lev.
xix. 18. The Septuagint, in the translation of that place, have the
same words with our apostle. It is often repeated by our Lord, see
Mat. xxii. 39 ; and often by the apostles, see Kom. xiii. 9 ; Gal. v. 14.
The full import of this rule we shall anon open.

Ye do ivell. — The same form is used, Phil. iv. 14, and implieth that
then they were not blameworthy, and might justly be absolved and
acquitted from the guilt charged in the context. And by the way we
may hence gather, that the apostle doth not simply forbid a respect to
the rich, but a respect sordid and invested with the circumstances of
the context.

Out of this verse observe : —

Obs. 1. That the vilest wickedness will have a fair covert and pre
tence. Sin loves to walk under a disguise ; the native face of it is
ugly and odious. Therefore Satan in policy, and our hearts deceived
by ignorance and self-love, seek to mask and hide it, that we may
spare ourselves, which should press us to the greater heed. Never
seek a cover of duty for a vile practice, and to excuse checks of con
science by some pretence from the law. It is Satan's cunning some
times to dress up sins in the form and appearance of duty, and at
other times to represent duty in the garb of sin : as Christ's healing
on the Sabbath day. Be the more suspicious, especially in a matter
wherein your private advantage is concerned, lest base compliance
be reputed a necessary submission, and unjust gain be counted godli
ness. Examine the nature of the practice by the rule, Is the royal
law appliable to such servility ? And examine your own hearts. Is
my aim right as well as my action ? It is not enough to do what
the law requires, but it must be done in that manner which the law
requireth. Matter of duty may be turned into sin, where the respect
and aim is carnal.

Obs. 2. That coming to the law is the best way to discover self-
deceits. If it be according to the law (saith the apostle), it is well.
Paul died by the coming of the commandment, Kom. vii. 9 ; that is,
in conviction upon his heart ; saw himself in a dead and lost estate.
So Eom. iii. 20, ' By the law is the knowledge of sin ;' and therefore we
should often talk with the commandment, consult with it in all practices.

JAS. II. 8.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 207

Obs. 3. That the Lord's law is a royal law. (1.) It hath a kingly
author. The solemn motive to obedience is, 'I am the Lord.'
Marcion blasphemed in saying the law came from an evil God.
Many now speak so contemptuously of it as if they had a Marcionite's
spirit. The same Lord Jesus that gave the gospel gave also the law.
Therefore it is so often said, Acts vii., that the law was ' given by an
angel ; ' that is, the angel of the covenant. So Heb. xii. 25 to end ;
the apostle proves that it was the voice of the Lord Jesus that shook
Mount Sinai. It is a known rule in divinity that the Father never
appeared in any shape, and therefore that all those apparitions in the
Old Testament were of the second person. (2.) It requires noble
work, fit for kings ; service most proportioned to the dignity of a man's
spirit. Service is an honour, and duty a privilege : Hosea viii. 12,
' The great things ' (it is in the vulgar Jionorabilia legis, the honour
able things) ' of my law/ It is said of Israel that no nation was so
high in honour above all nations, because they had God's statutes,
which was ' their wisdom/ Deut. vii. The brightest part of God's
glory is his holiness ; and therefore it is said, ' Glorious in holiness ; '
and it is our dignity to be holy. That must needs be a royal law
that maketh all those kings that fulfil it. (3.) There is royal wages ;
no less than all of you to be made kings and princes unto God : ' Enter
into the kingdom prepared for you ; ' and, ' henceforth is laid up for
me a crown,' 2 Tim. iv. 8. This is the entertainment that ye shall
have from God hereafter, to be all crowned kings and princes. Oh !
then, give the law this honour in your thoughts. Naturally men
adore strictness. How great is the excellency of God's statutes!
Check yourselves, that you can no more come under the power of
them. In the ways of sin you have a bad master, worse work, and the
worst wages. There is a bad master : ' His lusts will ye do/ John viii.
44 ; they are Satan's lusts, he is the author of them. There is bad
work ; sin is the greatest bondage and thraldom, 2 Peter ii. 18, the
heart naturally riseth against it. Then there is bad wages : Born, vi.,
' The wages of sin is death/ Well, then, press these disproportions, and
say, ' What evil have I found in God ? ' Jer. ii. 5. Hath God or
sin been a land of darkness to me ? I have served him these eighty
years (said Poly carp), /cal OVK rjSifcijcre ^e, and he never did me harm.
Eeason with yourselves : Will you sin against a royal Lord, such royal
work, such a royal reward ?

Obs. 4. That the rule that God hath left us is laid down in the
scriptures ; there is the signification of his will, and from thence must
it be sought : they are ' able to make the man of God perfect/

Obs. 5. The scriptures require we should love our neighbour as our
selves. Paul saith, Gal. v. 14, ' All the law is fulfilled in one word :
love thy neighbour as thyself/ All the law, that is, all that part of
the law which concerns our duty towards others; or all the law, ^ by
worshipping God, in discharging our duty towards man, and so turning
both tables into one. And Christ saith, Mat. vii. 12, ' This is the
law, and the prophets ' — that is, the sum of the whole word, and that
standard of equity which is erected therein— that ' whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : ' for which
saying Severus reverenced Christ and Christianity. But must a man

208 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 8.

love his neighbour with the same proportion of care and respect that
he doth himself ? The special love of a man to his wife is expressed
by this, Eph. v. 28, ' So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies;' and the Hebrew expression is the same in all other places :
* Let him love his neighbour as his own body.' And must he now
love every one with those singular respects and proportions of affection
that he beareth to himself and his wife ?

I answer — The strictness of the precept should not amaze us. Christ
raiseth it one peg higher : John xiii. 34, ' I have given you a com
mandment, that as I have loved you, so ye should love one another.'
There is another manner of pattern : Christ's love was intense, and
the measure of it beyond the conceit of our thoughts : Yet as I love,
so must ye love one another.

But for the opening of this matter, I shall first show you, Who is
your neighbour ; secondly. What kind of love is required to him.

First, Who is your neighbour ? — a question necessary to be pro
pounded. It was propounded to Christ himself : Luke x. 29, ' Who
is my neighbour?' The solution may be gathered out of Christ's
answer. First, In the general, every man to whom I may be helpful ;
and the term neighbour is used because our charity is most exercised
and drawn out to those that are near us, the objects that are about us.
But it must not be confined there : for Christ proves that a stranger
may be a neighbour, Luke x. 36. All people that have the face of a man
are called ' our flesh,' Isa. Iviii. 7, and ' one blood,' Acts xvii. 26 — * one
blood,' cousins at a remoter distance. Any man is a neighbour in
regard of the nearness of our first original, and as he is capable of
the same glory and blessedness which we expect ; and so a stranger,
an enemy, may be a neighbour by the gospel rules, and an object of
such love as we bear unto ourselves, we being bound to desire his
good, by virtue of his manhood, as we would our own. Secondly,
There are more especial neighbours, who dwell about us, and are
more frequent with us, whose necessities must provoke us to more
acts and expressions of love ; and as they are more or less near unto
us, so are we to proportion our love to them : those that dwell with
us before strangers. Thus the Hebrews preferred the men of their
own nation before the Grecians ' in the daily ministration,' Acts vi.
And then our kindred, and those of our family, before a common
neighbour ; as the apostle saith, 1 Tim. v. 8, ' If any man provideth
not for his own, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.'
He speaks upon the case of showing pity at home. And then our
children are in the next rank before them ; and the wife of the bosom
before them all : and accordingly must all acts of bounty and pro
vision be dispensed. Thirdly, There are spiritual neighbours, and
they are those who are begotten by the same Spirit to the same hopes,
who are to have a special preferment in our affection ; I mean, in that
kind of affection which is proper to Christianity : and for all outward
acts of bounty and love, they are to have the pre-eminence, our children
and families only excepted, which, by the law of nature, in this case
are to be looked upon as a part of ourselves : Gal. vi. 10, ' As we
have opportunity, let us do good to all men ; especially to the house
hold of faith.' In short, in the love of bounty, the poor and necessitous

JAS. II. 8.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 209

man is the special neighbour ; in the love of delight, the godly man
is to have the preferment : * My delights are to the excellent of the
earth,' Ps. xvi. 2. Which also is Bernard's determination, Meliori
major affectus, indigentiori major effectus, tribuendus est — the best
must have most of our affection, the poorest most of our bounty :
Luke xiv. 12-14, ' When thou makest a feast, call not thy rich neigh
bours/ &c. He doth not condemn honest courtesies, but reproveth the
Pharisees' error, who thought by these things to satisfy the command
ment; just as these did here in the text, who would seem to make that
an act of charity which was but an act of covetousness, and called that
love which was base servility and compliance : and we still see that
many esteem that Christian communion which is indeed but a carnal
visit, and pretend courtesy to excuse charity.

Secondly, What kind of love is required in this expression, we are
to love them as ourselves ? I answer — The expression showeth the
manner of our love, not the measure of it ; a parity and likeness for
kind, not for proportion. It cannot be understood in the same
degree, partly because in some cases a man is bound to love his
neighbour more than himself ; as 1 John iii. 16, ' We ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren/ my single life to save^the whole
community. And so we ought to help on one another's spiritual good
with the loss of our temporal : we may expose ourselves to uncertain
danger to hinder another's certain danger. The apostle Paul, in a
glorious excess of charity, could prefer the common good of the salva
tion of all the Jews before the particular salvation of his own soul :
Kom. ix. 3, ' I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for
my brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh ; ' and Moses, for the
general safety of Israel, could wish himself to be ' blotted out of God's
book/ Exod. xxxii. Cases may happen wherein a public good may be
more considerable, and better in itself, than my particular happiness ;
and then in self-denial I am bound to love others better than myself.
And partly because, on the other hand, in ordinary cases it is impos
sible I should be as strongly moved, or as industriously active, in
another man's case as I would in my own ; therefore, as I said, the
rule intendeth the kind of affection, and the way of it ; that is, with
what mind and in what course I should pursue the good of others —
with the same heart and in the same way I would mine own ; and
chiefly aimeth at the prevention of a double evil usual among men —
self-love and injury : self-love, when men out of the privacy and
narrowness of their spirits, only ' mind their own things ; ' and injury,
when men care not how they deal with others. First, It preventeth
self-love by pressing us — (1.) To mind the good of others : 1 Cor.
x. 24, ' Let no man seek his own, but each man another's wealth/
their comfort and contentment, by all offices of humanity suitable and
convenient to their necessities ; especially to promote their spiritual
good, labouring to procure it, praying for them, though they be
enemies, as David fasted for his enemies, Ps. xxxv. But alas ! this
love is quite decayed in these last ages of the world. ^They are
mightily infamed in the scriptures for self-seeking, 2 Tim. iii. 2. One
said,1 The world was once destroyed, propter ardorem cnpidinis, with

1 Ludolphus de Vita Christi.
VOL. IV. °

210 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 9.

water for the heat of lust ; and it will be again destroyed, propter
teporem charitatis, with fire for the coldness of love. These duties
are quite out of date and use. (2.) To niind their good really, as
truly, though not as much. The apostle saith, ' Let love be without
dissimulation ; ' and St John speaketh often of ' loving in truth/
Though we are not every way as earnest, yet we must be as real in
promoting their good as our own, without any self-end and reflections
upon our own advantage and profit. Secondly, It preventeth injury,
by directing us to deal with others as we would have them to deal
with ourselves ; wishing them no more hurt than we would wish our
own souls : I mean, when we are in our right reason, and self-love is
regular ; hiding their defects and infirmities as you would your own ;
pardoning their offences as you desire God should do yours ; and in
all contracts and acts of converse putting your souls in their stead.
Would I be thus dealt with ? If I had my own choice, would not I
be otherwise used ? In all our commerce it is good to make frequent
appeals to our consciences: Would I have this measure measured
unto my own soul ?

And thus I have opened the great rule of all commerce, ' Love thy
neighbour as thyself ;' whose intent is, as I said, partly to prevent
self-love, by showing we must do others good as well as ourselves ;
and partly to prevent injury, that we may do others no more evil than
we do ourselves.

Ver. 9. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are
convinced of the laic as transgressors.

Here is the second part of the apostle's answer. In the former part
there was the concession, 'Ye do well/ if you give this respect in
obedience to the law : but here is the correction ; you give it contrary
to the direction of the law, and so it is not a duty, but a sin.

But if ye have respect to persons ; that is, if, in distributing the
honours and censures of the church, you judge altogether according to
men's outward quality and condition, as before was cleared —

Ye commit sin ; that is, it is not a duty, as you pretend, but a sin ;
and, whatever you think, the law, which is the rule of Christ's process,
will find you guilty.

And are convinced of the law. — This may be understood, either
generally, that, whatever their pretences were, yet the law would find
them out, and distinguish their unjust partiality from a necessary re
spect ; or else, more especially, it may be understood of the law which
they urged, ; Love thy neighbour as thyself ;' which required an equai
respect to the neighbour, however distinguished, whether rich or poor ;
or else the apostle intendeth the law against respect of persons : Lev.
xix. 15, ' Thou shalt do no unrighteousness in judgment ; thou shalt
not respect the person of the poor, nor the person of the mighty ; but
in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.' To which place I
suppose the apostle almdeth, because it is so fair for his purpose, and
because in that context the general of love to the neighbour is re
peated, see ver. 18 ; and in that the Septuagint have the very same
words which the apostle useth in ver. 8.

As transgressors.— c/2?, the word in the original for os,implieth reality,1

1 ' Veritatem, non similitudinem.' — Laurent, in locum.

JAS. II. 9.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 211

not only similitude and likeness ; that is, that you are indeed trans
gressors. I do the rather note it for the opening of a like expression
in a matter important and weighty ; it is in John i. 14, * We saw his
glory, as the glory of the only-begotten Son of God ;' that is, not like
the glory of the Son of God, but that he was indeed so.

Little is to be observed out of this verse, because the matter of it is
handled in the context. Only note : —

Obs. 1. That the word and rule discovereth wickedness when our
blind consciences do not. Conscience hath but a weak light, and
that light is partial: 'Favour thyself is the language of corrupt
nature ; and, therefore, that we may not be injurious to our own quiet,
deluded conscience is apt to mistake every pretence for duty, and the
outward work of every duty for the power and life of it ; therefore the
apostle saith of the heathens, that had but a little light, that they
only minded epyov vb^ov, ' the work of the law/ Kom. ii. 14 ; that is,
the external matter of the commandment. Nay, those that have more
light are every way as unfaithful in the use of it. Paul rested con
tented with his pharisaism and outward righteousness, till, by a serious
application of the rule, he found that to be a merit of death which he
had formerly reckoned upon as a plea for life. That I suppose he
intendeth when he sayeth, ' I was alive without the law, but the com
mandment coming, I died,' Kom. vii. 9. Well, then, we see we have
need to attend upon the word, and consult with the law, not the
crooked rule of our own consciences.

Obs. 2. It is but a crafty pretence when one part of the law is
pleaded to excuse obedience to another ; for when we pick and choose,
we do not fulfil God's will, but our own.1 These pretended submis
sive respect to the rich, as due by the law, but forgot those other pre
cepts that established a duty to the poor. Conscience must be satisfied
with something ; therefore men usually please themselves in so much
of obedience as is least contrary to their interests and inclinations, and
have not an entire uniform respect to the whole law. It is as if a ser
vant should think himself dutiful when he goeth to a feast or a fair
when his master biddeth him ; when, in the meantime, he declineth
errands of less trouble, but of more service : whereas in such matters
he doth not obey his master's will, but his own inclination. So in
commands easy and compliant with our own humours and designs, we
do not so much serve God as our own interests ; and there is more of
design than of duty and religion in such actions ; and, therefore, they
lose their reward with God. As to instance in a matter suitable to
the context, God hath required that persons should be hospitable and
harborous. Now men of a social nature will soon hear in that ear, and
think themselves liberal and bountiful because they spend much in
festivity and entertainment, or in feasting with their rich neighbours ;
whereas little or nothing is done out of a well-tempered charity, and
in refreshing the poor members of Christ. Now this is no more ac
cepted of God than the offering of a dog's head in sacrifice ; because
all this is but a lust fed and served under a pretence of religion —
joviality under the disguise of Christian charity and bounty ; and,

' Qui facit solummodo ea quae vult facere, non dominicam voluntatem implet, sed
suam.' — Salman.

212 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 10.

therefore the apostle maketh entertainments to he hut ' sowing to the
flesh/ Gal. vi. 8 ; for I suppose the drift of that context is to distinguish
between what is spent in charity and luxury : and in the process of
the last day (described Mat. xxv.), Christ doth not ask what thou hast
done to the rich, but to his poor members— to the hungry, the naked,
&c. Well, then, beware of such a partial, disproportionate obedience.
Hypocrites use to divide between the tables — between duty to God and
duty to man ; and in the respects due to man they are swayed more by
their own humours and interests than the true motives of obedience ; and,
therefore, though they usually exceed in their duty and submission to
the rich, yet they neglect if not contemn the poor, either in their suf
frages and elections to ecclesiastical honours and offices, or in acts of
judicature, or in duties of private charity, in visits and entertain
ments ; which respect of persons our apostle justly disproveth, taxing
it for a transgression, and not a duty.

Ver. 10. For whosoever shall keep the whole laiv, and yet offend in
one point, is guilty of all.

The connection between this verse and the former is this : They
had pleaded that their respect of the rich was but a necessary civility,
and a duty of the law ; or, at least, that it was but a small offence,
such as might be excused by their innocent intention, and obedience
in other things, which was an opinion rife in those days ; and that
some i make to the occasion of this sentence, that the apostle might
disprove that conceit which was then so common, that obedience in some
things did make amends for their neglect and disobedience in other
things. That the conceit was common appeareth by several passages
of Christ and the apostles. Our Saviour chargeth it often upon the
Pharisees. Ben Maimon, in his treatise of repentance, hath such a
passage as this is : ' Every one/ saith he, ' hath his merits and his
sins. He whose merits are equal to 2 his sins, he is tzadoc^ the right
eous man ; he whose sins are greater than his merits, he is rashang,
the wicked man ; but where the sins and the merits are equal, he
is the middle man, partly happy, and partly miserable.' This was
the sum of the Jewish doctrine in the more corrupt tim&s; and
some think the apostle might meet with this error in this verse, by
showing that the least breach rendered a man obnoxious to the
danger of the violation of the whole law. Kather, I suppose, it lieth
thus : They satisfied themselves with half duty, using over-much observ
ance to the rich, and to the poor nothing at all. He had before said, et
vofjiov reXetre j3a<ri\i/cov, ' If ye fulfil, or perfect, the royal law/ Now,
they minded that part of it that was advantageous to them ; it was
not full or perfect obedience to cut off so much of duty as was less
profitable : therefore the law convinced them ' as transgressors.' The
royal law saith, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ; ' and man
is not to make such exceptions as please him best, to defalcate and cut
off such a considerable part of duty at his own pleasure. God saith,
' thy neighbour ; ' and I must not say, ' my rich neighbour only/
There must be an even and adequate care to comply with the whole
will of God, or else it is not obedience, but you are in the danger of
transgressors. This hint maketh much for the opening of the verse,

1 See Camero, the last edition of his works in folio, p. 170. 2 Qu. ' Greater than ' ?— ED.

JAS. II. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 213

a place in itself difficult. Augustine l consulted with Jerome about
the sense of it in a long epistle ; and, indeed, at the first view, the
sentence seemeth harsh and rough. I shall first open the phrases,
remove false inferences from it, and then establish the true notes and
observations, that this scripture may have its due and proper force
upon the conscience.

Whosoever shall keep the ivliole law. — He speaketh upon supposition.
Suppose a man should be exact in all other points of the law, which
yet is impossible, we may suppose things that never shall be. Or else
he speaketh according to their pretences and presumptions. They
supposed they were not to be taxed or convinced as transgressors in
any other matter : grant it, saith the apostle ; or else he speaketh of
the whole of this commandment, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour/
&c. Suppose your duty to rich men, and where it may make for your
advantage, be whole and entire.

Yet {f he offend in one point. — Willingly, constantly, and with
allowance from conscience ; with thought of merit and excuse, because
of his obedience in other matters.

He is guilty of all. — Liable to the same punishment, standeth upon
the same terms of hope and acceptance with God, as if he had done
nothing. A man may violate totam legem though not totum legis ; sin
against the dignity and authority of the whole law, though he doth not
actually break every part of it. Ay ! but you will say, as the apostles,
Mat. xix., ' Who then can be saved ? ' Here is a terrible sentence that
will much discourage God's little ones, who are conscious to themselves
of their daily failings. I answer — That which the apostle aimeth at is
the discovery of hypocrites, not the discouragement of saints. As Zuin-
glius, when he had flashed the thunder and lightning of God in the
face of sinners, he was wont to come in with this proviso, Bone Chris-
tiane, haic nihil ad te — poor Christian, this is not spoken tothee. So
this is not spoken to discourage God's children, however it may be of
use to them to make them more humble, cautious, and watchful, as
lions will tremble when dogs are beaten. To clear the place, before I
come to lay down the notes, I shall, according to promise, remove the
false inferences. (1.) You cannot conclude hence that all sins are
equal. They are all damning, not all alike damning. Some guilt
may be more heinous, but all is deadly. And that is it which James
asserteth : he saith, 'he is guilty of all,' but not equally guilty. The
apostle would infer an equality of care and respect to the whole law,
but not an equality of sin. All that can be collected is this, that one
allowed, wilful, deliberate breach and violation forfeiteth our right
eousness, and maketh us become obnoxious to the curse of the whole
law, and the sinner shall no less die than if he had broken all by an
actual transgression. So that, although all allowed sins deserve
death, yet there is a difference still remaining in the several degrees
of guilt and the curse. (2.) You cannot hence conclude that total
rebellion is simply, and in itself, better than formal profession. Christ
loved the man for the good things that were in him from his youth,
and telleth him, ' Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.' We
read of greater sins, and more intolerable judgment. Good moral

1 Aug. Retract., lib. ii. cap. 45 ; et Epist. 102 adEvodium ; et Epist. 29 ad Hieron.

214 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. IT. 10.

heathens may have a cooler hell. (3.) You cannot apply it to them
whose care of obedience is universal, though the success be not
answerable : Ps. cxix. 6, ' Then shall I not be ashamed when I have
respect to all thy commandments ; ' not when I have observed, but
when I have respect. Gracious hearts look to all, when they cannot
accomplish all ; and upon every known defect and failing they humble
themselves, and seek mercy. It doth not exclude them, for then it
would exclude all. But when men allow and please themselves in a
partial obedience, without fore-care, present-striving, and after-grief,
they come under the terror of this sentence. God will dispense with
none that can dispense with themselves in any known failing. (4.)
You must not urge this sentence to the exclusion of the comforts of
the gospel, and the hopes that we have by the grace of God in Christ :
for this sentence in itself is legal, the very rigour of the law, and such
sayings brook the exceptions of repentance and free grace : for the
rigour of the law can only take place on those that are under the bond
of it, and are not freed by Christ. That this is the voice of the law is
plain, because it consenteth with that sum and tenor of it which is
laid down Deut. xxvii. 26, ' Cursed is every one that continueth not
in all the words of this law to do them.' If they failed but in a cir
cumstance, in a ceremony, they were under the power of the curse. So
the apostle urgeth it. Gal. iii. 10, ' As many as are under the works of
the law, are under the curse ; for cursed is he that continueth not in all
things to do them/ Now Christ hath redeemed all those that have in
terest in him from this curse, by being (as the apostle saith there, ver. 13)
' made a curse for us ;' so that there is a remedy in Christ, of which
we are possessed by faith and repentance. And let it not seem strange
to any that I say the sentence is legal, for many of that nature are
here and there intermixed and scattered throughout the gospel, because
they are of excellent use and service for gospel ends and purposes : as
to convince hypocrites, whose obedience is always partial; to drive
men to the grace revealed in the gospel ; and for the guidance and
rule of Christians, that they may know the whole will of God. For
though we are freed from the rigour of the law, yet we ought to look
to the whole rule, and, as much as in us lieth, to strive, f^rj Trraiew eV
evl, not to offend in one point and tittle, not to rest in their imperfec
tions, but to strive against them. Christ hath again revived this
strictness : Mat. v. 19, ' Whosoever shall break one of these command
ments, and teach men to do so, shall be least in the kingdom of God ;'
that is, shall not be owned for a gospel minister. Christ is chary of
his least saints and least commandments. Though there be a pardon,
of course, for infirmities and failings, yet Christ hath not abated any
thing of the strictness of the law. The Pharisees thought that some
commandments were little and arbitrary; and therefore the lawyer
came to Christ : Mat. xxii. 36, * Master, which is the great command
ment in the law ? ' It is true, some duties are more excellent ; but
the question was propounded according the mind of the Pharisees,
who accounted outward devotionary acts most singular, and their own
traditions weighty things ; now he cometh to see if Christ liked the
distribution. (5.) You must not urge this sentence to pervert the
order of the commandments ; as if a man, in committing theft, com-

JAS. II. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 215

mitted adultery ; and in committing adultery, he committed murder.
It is notable the apostle doth not say, ' He transgresseth all,' but ' he
is guilty of all/ The precepts are not to be taken disjunctim, but
conjunctim and completive ; not severally, but altogether, as they
make one entire law and rule of righteousness, the contempt reflect
ing upon the whole law when it is wilfully violated in one part ; as he
that wrongeth one member, wrongeth the whole man or body of which
it is a part. The text being vindicated, I shall sum up the whole
verse into one observation, which is : —

Obs. That voluntary and allowed neglects of any part of the law
make us guilty of the violation of the whole law. Many reasons
might be urged to mollify the seeming asperity and rigour of the
point ; as partly because the contempt of the same authority is mani
fested in the breach of one as well as of all : all the commands are
equal in regard of God ; they are all ratified by the same authority,
which man contemneth when he maketh his own will the measure of
obedience ; and partly because the same curse is deserved, which, when
neglects are voluntary, taketh place ; partly because the law is but
one copulation, like a chain which is dissolved by the loosening of one
link ; partly because all sin proceedeth from the same corruption :
the least sin is contrary to love, as well as the least drop of water to
fire j1 partly because amongst men it is counted equal : one condition
not observed forfeiteth the whole lease ; and partly because one sin
cere duty hath much promised to it, and therefore one sin hath its
proportionable guilt. True love is called a * fulfilling of the wholo
law/ Kom. xiii. 8. And, in God's account, he that sincerely repenteth
of one sin, repenteth of all. And so, on the contrary, one allowed sin
is virtually a violation of the whole law ; and, therefore, when some
went to gather manna on the Sabbath day, God said, Exod. xvi. 28,
' How long will ye refuse to keep my commandments and my laws ? '
implying that in the breach of that one they had broken all.

There are many uses of this note : because they are of profit and
concernment to you, in the right application of this place, I shall give
them you in their order.

1. It showeth how tender we should be of every command: wilful
violation amounteth to a total neglect ; therefore, as wisdom adviseth,
Prov. vii. 2, ' Keep my law as the apple of thine eye/ The least
dust offendeth the eye ; and so the law is a tender thing, and soon
wronged. Lest you forfeit all your righteousness at once, it is good
to be careful.

2. That partial obedience is an argument of insincerity. When
we neglect duties that either thwart carnal desires or prejudice carnal
concernments, we do not please God, but ourselves. We are to walk
' in all God's statutes/ Luke i. 6. David fulfilled irdvra ra QeXtffiara,
' all the wills of God/ Acts xiii. 22.

3. That it is a vain deceit to excuse defects of one duty by care of
another. Sometimes men ante-date, sometimes they post-date, an
indulgence. They ante-date it when they sin upon a presumption
they shall make amends by repentance, or that their future good
deeds shall be a sufficient expiation or satisfaction. They post-date

1 * Contra earn charitatem facit, in qua pendent omnia.' — Aug. Epist. 29.

216 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 10.

it when, from duties already done, they take liberty or an occasion to
sin the more freely : Ezek. xxxiii. 13, ' If he trust to his righteous
ness, and commit iniquity/ that is, if, upon that occasion of right
eousness so done, called, or thought to be so in his apprehension, he
shall adventure upon sin, the doom is, ' he shall die the death/ We
see many men's hearts grow loose and vain after duties, and they are
the more presumptuous and careless out of a vain conceit that super-
erogating in some things will excuse obedience in others.

4. That upon any particular failing we ought to renew our peace
with God. I have done that now which will make me guilty of the
whole law ; therefore, soul, run to thy advocate : 1 John ii. 1, * If any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.' Oh ! go to Christ that he may sue out your pardon ;
your hearts are not right with God if you do not use this course :
after daily transgressions sue out a daily pardon. The children of
God are like fountains ; when mud is stirred up they do not leave till
they can get themselves clear again. Particular sins must have
particular applications of grace, for in themselves, in their own merit,
they leave you under a curse. It is good to deprecate it, as David
doth, Ps. vi. 1, '0 Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger/ &c.

5. That we must not only regard the work of duty, but all the
circumstances of it ; and so proportionably, not only the acts of sin,
but the vicious motions and inclinations of it. One point is
dangerous. The Pharisees were for external duties, and the avoid
ing of gross sins, but securely allowed themselves in sins more hidden,
which yet are of a dangerous consequence. Malice is murder ; and
thereupon John saith, 1 John iii. 15, ' No murderer hath, eternal life/
And lust is adultery, Mat. v. 28 ; a look, a glance, a thought, a
desire, is in itself damnable, and brooketh only the exception of the
divine grace.

6. That former profession will do no good in case there be a total
revolt afterward. A little poison in a cup, and one leak in a ship,
may ruin all. A man may ride right for a long time, but one turn in
the end of the journey may bring him quite out of the way. Gideon
had seventy sons, and but one bastard, and yet that bastard destroyed
all the rest, Judges viii. It is said, Eccles. ix. 18, ' One sinner destroy-
eth much good/ Once a sinner, all is lost ; the ancients expound it
that way. So Ezek. xxxiii. 13, ' All his righteousness shall be
forgotten ; ' that is, all will be to no purpose. As the sins of one that
repenteth are carried into a land of darkness, so are their duties who
apostatise.

7. That the smallness of sin is a poor excuse; it is an aggravation
rather than an excuse : it is the more sad, that we should stand with
God for a trifle. Luke xvi. 21, he would not give a crumb, and this
wonderfully displeased God ; he did not receive a drop. God's judg
ments have been most remarkable when the occasion was least.
Adam was cast out of paradise for an apple ; so gathering of sticks on
the Sabbath day, looking into the ark, &c. God's command bindeth
in lesser things as well as greater; though the object be different, the
command is still the same : ' I tasted but a little honey (saith
Jonathan), and I must die/ 1 Sam. xiv. 43. It will be sad to you to

JAS. II. 11.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 217

go to hell for a small matter. One of the prophet's aggravations is,
that they ' sold the righteous for a pair of shoes,' Amos ii. 6. Would
you contest with God for a small thing and of little consequence ? As
it is imprudence, so it is unkindness.

Ver. 11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do
not kill. Now if thou commit adultery, yet if thou do not kill, thou
art become a transgressor of the law.

Here is a proof of the intent of the former sentence, that we are not
to look to the matter of the command, how it complieth with our
desires and interests, but to the authority of the lawgiver. He giveth
an instance in the sixth and seventh commandments. God, that hath
said one, hath said both ; they are precepts of the same law and law
giver ; and therefore, in the violation of one of these laws the authority
of the law is violated.

He that said, Do not commit adultery ; that is, that threatened
adultery with death, Deut. xxii. 22, threatened also murder with
death, Lev. xxiv. 17, and Deut. xix. 13 ; and the apostle useth that
phrase ' He that said,' as alluding to the preface of the law : Exod.
xx. 1, ' God spake all these words, saying.' He instancetli in such sins
as are not only digested into the sum of the moral law, but are more
directly against the light of nature, that so his argument might
be the more strong and sensible ; which is to be noted, lest we should
think that only a uniformity of obedience is required to those precepts
that forbid sins openly gross and heinous.

Out of these words observe : —

Obs. 1. That we must not so much dispute the matter of the com
mand, as look to the will of the lawgiver. He proveth that the whole
law had an equal obligation upon the conscience, because he that said
the one said the other. God's will is motive enough to obedience,
1 Peter ii. 15 ; 1 Thes. iv. 3 ; v. 18. Every sin is an affront to
God's sovereignty, as if his will were not reason enough ; and to his
wisdom, as if he did not know what were good for men ; and to his
justice, as if the ways of God were unequal. When your hearts stick
at any duty, shame yourselves with these considerations : It is a trial
of sincerity ; then duty is well done when it is done intuitu voluntatis,
with a bare sight of God's will. And it is a motive to universal
obedience j1 this duty is required as well as other duties, and enjoined
by the same will.

Obs. 2. Duties and sins are of several kinds, according to the several
laws of God. Man hath several affections ; every one must have a
special law : he hath several essential parts ; God giveth laws to both :
he is disposed to several providences, which needeth a distinct rule ;
he is under several relations and obligations to God, which call for
duties of a different nature and respect. Well, then, be not contented,
with Herod, to ' hear many things,' gladly to practise somewhat. He
that calleth you to pray calleth you to hear, to redeem time for
meditation and other holy purposes. All commands are equally
commanded, and must be equally observed. And be not secure,
though you be not guilty of such sins as are reproved in others. Other
diseases are mortal besides the plague : though you are not for the

1 ' A quatenus ad omue valet consequential

218 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 12.

farm, you may be for the merchandise : though thou art not a thief or
whore, yet thou mayest be covetous and worldly. There is, as Hippo
crates said, 8t7rX77 navia, a double madness — a sober madness as well
as a trying.1 You may be dead in sins, though not dissolute ; and
though the life may be gravely ordered, yet the heart may be averse
from God. The Pharisee could say, I am no adulterer, but he could
not say, I am not proud, I am not self-confident.

Ver. 12. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the
law of liberty.

Out of the whole discourse he inferreth a seasonable exhortation,
that they would order their speeches and actions so as to endure the
test and trial of the law, especially in the matter of impartial respects,
because commanded by an impartial law. The reason of it lieth thus:
Those that would be judged by the law should not omit the least part
of it. But you desire to be judged by the moral law, evangelised or
made a ' law of liberty ;' in which term he hinteth the reinforcement
of the duties of the law of Moses in the gospel, which doth as exactly
require a care in our speeches and actions as the law ; for though
believers be freed from the terror of the law, yet not from the obedi
ence of it ; yea, if they continue in any known and allowed neglects,
they lose their privilege, and are not judged by a law of liberty, but
fall under the utmost rigour and severity of the sentence forementioned.

$o speak ye, and so do. — He joineth the matter hinted in the close
of the former chapter concerning speech, ver. 27, and the matter of
the present chapter, concerning impartial respects, together ; and
saith, ' so speak/ as relating to those directions ; ' so do/ as relating to
the present case ; and the rather, because not only actions but speeches
fall under the judgment of God and the law.

As they that shall be judged. — Some read, * as those that will judge/
as applying it to the direct context ; and they make out the sense
thus : — In the Old Testament, differences of persons were not so ex
pressly forbidden ; but now, as differences of nation, so of relation,
are taken away by the law of liberty : bond and free are all one in
Christ, Gal. iii. 28 ; and therefore you are to judge without any re
spect of persons. But this seemeth more argute than solid. It is
better to keep our own reading, ' as those that shall be judged ;' that
is, either in conscience here, or rather at the tribunal of God hereafter.

By the laio of liberty. — The same expression is used in the 25th
verse of the former chapter. But what is the force of it here ? The
lowest reason may be, because their observance of rich men was servile,
and the law commanded nobler and freer respects, more separate from
base aims and self -advantage ; or else in this expression the apostle
may anticipate an objection which might be framed against the rigour
of the former sentence ; they might pretend they had an exemption
by Christ. The apostle granteth there was a liberty, but not a
license ; for still there is a law, though to the elect a law of liberty ;
but, saith he, see that your interest be good. To wicked men it is
still a bondage, and a hard yoke. Therefore, walk so that you may
not be judged in a legal way, for then the least failing maketh you
obnoxious to the curse ; which rigour, if you would not undergo, see

1 So in first edition ; in second edition, ' toying.' Qu. ' crying ' ? — ED.

JAS. II. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 219

that you walk so that you may give evidence that you are come under
the banner of love and the privileges of the gospel. And then, when
you come to be judged, you will be judged upon gospel terms ; other
wise there is no liberty or freedom for any that allow themselves in
the least breach or voluntary neglect, nothing to be expected but
judgment without mercy.

From this verse I observe : —

Obs. 1. That the law in the hands of Christ is a law of liberty.

1. It is a ' law:' 1 Cor. ix. 21, ' I am not ai/o/*o9, without the law, but
eWo/zo?, under the law to Christ.' There is a yoke, though not an
insupportable burden. Though there be not rigour, yet there is a rule
still. It is directive : ' He hath showed thee, 0 man, what is good/
Micah vi. 8. The acceptable will of God is discovered in the law of ten
words, and the moral part of the scripture is but a commentary upon it.
And it is also imperative. It is not arbitrary to us whether we will
obey or no. Laws are obliging. The will of the creator being signi
fied to us in the law, we are under the commanding power of it.
Things moral and just are perpetually obliging : Rom. vii. 12, ' The
law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good/ It is holy,
it discovereth true strictness. It is just or suitable to those common
notices of right and equity which are impressed upon the creature ;
and it is good, that is, profitable, useful for man. All which things
infer a perpetual obligation ; and if the law were not obliging, there
could be no sin ; for where there is no obligation, there is no trans
gression : 1 John iii. 4, ' Whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth the
law ; for sin is the transgression of the law.' Now natural conscience
would soon be offended at that doctrine that should make murder,
incest, or adultery no sins ; and therefore it is but the vain conceit of
profane men in these times to think that the gospel freeth us from the
obligation of the law because it freeth us from the curse of it, for then
all duty would be will-worship, and sin but a fond conceit.

2. It is a ' law of liberty ; ' for there is a great deal of freedom pur
chased by Christ.

[1.] We are freed from the law, as a covenant of works. We
are not absolutely bound to such rigour and exactness as that re
quired. Life and glory is not offered upon such strict terms. We
ought to aim at exactness of obedience, but not to despair if we can
not reach it. We are so far to eye perfect obedience, as if it were still
the matter of our justification, as to be humbled for defects. A gra
cious heart cannot offend a good God without grief. Sin is still damn
ing in its own nature, still a violation of a righteous law, still an
affront to God. Nay, there are new arguments of humiliation, as sin
ning against God's love and kindness, the forfeiting of our actual
fruition of the comforts of the covenant, though not our right in it, &c.
And as to be humbled for our defects, so to be as earnest in our
endeavours. You have more reason to be strict, because you have
more help. Lex jubet, gratia juvat — we have more advantages, and
therefore we should have more care of duty : Phil. iii. 11, ' I press on,
that if it be possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead ; '
that is, the holiness of that state. A Christian's actions are much
below his aims. They have no grace that can be content with a little

220 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 12.

grace. So that you see we ought to look to the law's utmost, though
we be not judged by the law's rigour. Failings not allowed are par
doned, and weaknesses passed by ; the obedience required of us being
not that of servants, but children : Mai. iii. 17, ' I will spare them, as
a man spareth his only son/

[2.] We are freed from the curse and condemnation. The law may
condemn the actions, it cannot condemn the person. It judgeth
actions according to their quality, but it hath no power over the per
son. So we are said to be ' dead to the law/ Gal. ii. 19, and the law
to us, Gal. iv. 6, and therefore the apostle saith, ovbev /card/cpifjia,
' There is not one condemnation to them that are in Christ,' Bom. viii.
1. The curse may be proposed to a believer, but it cannot take hold
of a believer. Not only colts, but horses already broken, need a bridle.

[3.] We are freed from the curse and irritation of the law : Bom.
vii., ' Sin took occasion from the commandment/ Carnal hearts grow
worse for a restraint, as waters swell and rage when the course is stopped.
The very prohibition is an occasional provocation ; but to a gracious
heart it is motive enough to a duty, because God willeth it.

[4.] We are freed from bondage and terrors. By natural men duties
are done servilely, and out of slavish principles : ' We have not received
the spirit of bondage again unto fear,' Bom. viii. 15. The great prin
ciple in the Old Testament, when the dispensation was more legal,
was fear. Therefore it is said, ' The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom/ Prov. ix. ; and ' the whole duty of man is to fear God,
and keep his commandments/ Eccles. xii. 13. Fear is represented
as the great principle of duty and worship in the Old Testament, as
suitable to that dispensation. But in the New we read that ' love
constraineth/ 2 Cor. v. 14 ; that love ' keepeth the commandments/
1 John v. 2, &c. To the old world God more discovered his will, to
us his grace ; and therefore our great constraint is to arise from love
and sweetness.

Use. It showeth us the happiness of those which are in Christ : the
law to a believer is a law of liberty; to another it is the law of
bondage and death. We may ' serve him without fear/ Luke i. 57,
that is, without slavish fear. Beasts are urged with goads, and things
without life haled with cart-ropes ; but Christians are led by sanctified
affections, motives of grace, and considerations of gratitude. Oh!
look to yourselves, then, whether you be in Christ or no. How sweet
is this, when we are ' free for righteousness/ and do not complain
of the commandment, but of sin, and the transgression is looked
upon as a bondage, rather than duty ! The same apostle that groaned
under the body of death, delighted in the law of the Lord in the
inward man, Bom. vii. God's restraints are not a bondage, but our
own corruptions. And again, how sweet is this, when the command
giveth us a warrant, and love a motive, and we can come before God
as children, not as hirelings !

Obs. 2. That we shall be judged by the law at the last day ; see
Bom. ii. 12, ' As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by
the law/ The apostle's drift is to prove that all men out of Christ
are under a condemnation, whether they had a law promulged or a
law inbred ; a law written in tables of stone, as the Jews ; or in tables

JAS. II. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 221

of the heart, as the Gentiles. All are judged according to the decla
rations of his will that God hath made to them : they that have
gospel by gospel, or 'the law of faith/ Horn. iii. 31, 'The words
that I have spoken, shall judge them at the last day,' John xii. 48 ;
they that have only the law of nature, by the law natural ; they
that had the law written, by the law of tables ; believers, by the law
of liberty, — Christ's obedience shall be put upon their score. How
ever their actions are brought to be scanned by a law and rule, their
faith shall be judged and approved by their works, which, though
they be not the causes of glory, yet they are the evidences : as
motion is not the cause of life, but the effect and token of it. That
works are brought into judgment appeareth by that scheme, Mat.
xxv. 35. So Kev. xx. 12, ' The books were opened, and every man
was judged according to his works.' The judge of the world will
show that he doth rightly. The works of the wicked are produced as
the merit of their ruin ; the works of the godly, as evidences of glory :
and therefore the apostle, when he speaketh of the process of God
with the godly and wicked, he noteth the reward and the recompense
of the godly in a different term and phrase : Kom. vi. 23, ' The wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life/ The works of the
wicked are produced to show the equity of their wages ; the works of
the godly, to declare their interest in his gift. Well, then, if the law
be the rule of judgment, then let it be so now. If your confidence
will not stand before the word, it will not stand before Christ at his
appearing. We might anticipate and prevent the sentence of that
day if we would go to the law and to the testimony. This is usual in
experience, that persons the more ignorant, the more presuming ; and
men that contemn and neglect the means of grace have highest hopes.
The reason is, because they cherish a confidence which the word
would soon confute ; and therefore, out of a secret consciousness of
their own guilt, shun that way of trial : ' They come not to the light,
lest their deeds should be reproved/ John iii. 20. Oh ! if you dare
not stand before the word now, as it is opened by a minister, what will
you do when it is opened by Christ? Therefore when the word
reproveth, regard it with all reverence and fear : This word judgeth
me now, and it will judge me at the last day. Many fret at the light ;
as the Ethiopians once a year solemnly curse the sun. Oh ! but how
will they gnash the teeth when this word shall be brought against
them at the coming of Christ in the clouds !

Again, if we shall be judged according to the measure of light and
knowledge that we have of the law, it presseth us to bring forth fruits
answerable to the dispensation of God. It is sad to put the finger in
nature's eye, much more to grow black and wanzy in the sunshine of
the gospel. As God looketh to the rule, so to our proportions and
measures of light : ' If I had not spoken to them, they had had no sin/
saith Christ ; that is, no such sin, not that kind of sin, not so ^much
sin. Gentiles shall answer for their knowledge, and we according to
our proportions. In sins of knowledge there is more of sin ; for accord
ing to the sense that we have of the law forbidding, so is sin increased,
and there is more of malice ; therefore apostates, who have most
knowledge of the truth, are (as Arnobius saith) Haximi osores sui

222 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 12.

ordinis — the greatest enemies to their own order and profession ; and
suitable the prophet Hosea v. 2, ' The revolters are profound to make
slaughter.' Certainly there is more unkindness to God when we sin
against a direct sight and intuition of his will : and therefore David
aggravateth his adultery, because it was committed after God had
made him ' to know wisdom in the inward part,' Ps. li. 6 ; which cer
tainly is the intent of the Hebrew text there, though we read somewhat
otherwise in our translation. It is sad that after the law is written
upon the heart, it should be transgressed ; in such acts there is a kind
of violence offered to the principles and suggestions of our own bosom.
Obs. 3. It is a great help to our Christian course to think of the
day of judgment. They best prepare themselves to the spiritual
battle that always hear the sound of that day's trump. Do not think
it is against the liberty of the gospel to think of these severe accounts,
or a talk only for novices ; it is useful for the children of God.
Though they are delivered from the rigour of that day, yet they ought
still to reflect upon it with reverence. I confess there are some ser
vile reflections which beget nothing but torment and bondage in the
spirit ; these will not become the children of God. But still a holy
awe and reverence is necessary ; you will find it of special use to
quicken you to Christian care and watchfulness. There are evange
lical reflections which serve to make the spirit strict, but not servile.
It is a fondness in them that think this argument is wholly legal. The
apostle Paul maketh the doctrine of judgment to come to be a part
of the gospel, Kom. ii. 13 : ' God will judge the secrets of all men
according to my gospel,' that is, according as I have taught in the
dispensation of the gospel. And, indeed, it is a branch of the most
glorious part of the doctrine of the gospel ; Christ's judging being the
highest and most imperial act of his kingly office. The truth is, it is of
excellent use to invite wicked men to repentance, and therefore Paul
chose this argument at Athens, Acts xvii. 31, 'He hath commanded
all men to repent, because he hath appointed a day wherein he will
judge the world in righteousness.' Three reasons may be given why
he useth that motive to them at first. One is intimated in the text,
because it is a forcible and pressing motive to repentance ; and the
other two may be easily conjectured, or collected out of the context.
As, secondly, to prevent their plea, that if they had been in a wrong
way, they had found it a happy way ; no judgment or plague had
lighted upon them. The apostle anticipateth this objection by telling
them, ' at those days of ignorance God winked/ but now taketh notice ;
and if they did not repent now, however they escaped here, they should
be sure to meet with judgment to come. And, thirdly, because the
heathens themselves had some kind of dread and expectation of such a
day, conscience being but the counterpart of this doctrine ; and, there
fore, when Paul spake of 'judgment to come, Felix trembled/ though
an heathen, Acts xxiv. 25. The philosophers had some dreams of a
severe day of accounts, as appeareth by Plato's Gorgias, many passages
in Tully, &c. And possibly herein the light of nature might be much
helped by tradition; so that, for the first and inviting motive, it
serveth excellently. Nay, the people of God, that are already brought
into Christ, find a great deal of sweet use and profit by exercising

JAS. II. 12.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 223

their thoughts in it. The strictness of it serveth to scare them out of
their own righteousness. Nothing but Christ's righteousness will
serve for Christ's judgment : ' That I maybe found in him/ &c., Phil,
iii. 9. When wrath cometh thus solemnly to make inquisition for
sinners, it is comfortable to be ' hidden in the cleft of the rock/ to be
* found in him.' So also it is useful to make them more strict and
watchful ; that they may keep faith and grace in a constant exercise,
and so be fit to meet the Lord when he cometh, with joy and bold
ness. The preacher, when he had propounded the whole duty of man,
he enforceth it upon this motive, ' For God shall bring every work to
judgment/ Eccles. xii. 13, 14. And again, more faithful in their call
ings. Whatever things are omitted at the day of judgment, our car
riage in our callings is chiefly noted and produced, it being that
particular sphere to which we are limited and confined for serving the
great ends of our creation. And as all callings are respected, so
especially those high callings wherein there is some peculiar and
special ministration to God, or some charge and employment for the
public good. Paul himself, though a chosen vessel, a man of strong
affections to Christ, yet thought need sometimes to use the spur ; and
though he professed that he chiefly acted out of the constraints of love,
yet he also took the advantage of fear, ' Knowing the terror of the
Lord in that day, we persuade men/ 2 Cor. v. 11, implying that a re
flection upon the severity and strictness of the day of judgment was a
great enforcement to urge him to faithfulness in the ministry ; and
having found the use of it in his own spirit, he presseth Timothy by
the same motive : 2 Tim. iv. 1,2, 'I charge thee, before Jesus Christ,
who shall judge quick and dead, be instant; preach the word in
season, out of season/ It is a most vehement persuasive to diligence,
when we consider that we must give an account of our work. So also
to make them thankful. There cannot be a greater argument of praise
than when we consider our deliverance from wrath, when wrath is
drawn out to the height, that we can look Christ in the face with com
fort, 1 John ii. 28 ; and we may begin our triumph when others are
overwhelmed with terrors. So the apostle saith, 1 John iv. 17,
' Herein is love perfect, that we may have boldness at the day of judg
ment ; ' that is, therein is the height and perfection of the divine love
discovered, that when others call upon mountains to cover them, we
may lift up our heads with comfort, and may call the world's judge
our friend and father.

Lastly, To awaken their souls to an earnestness of desire and expec
tation. The good servant expecteth his master's coming, Mat. xxiv.
45, and ' the bride saith, Come/ Kev. xxii. The day of judgment is
the day of Christ's royalty and your espousals : here we are betrothed,
not married. When Christ went out of the world, there were mutual
and interchangeable pledges of love and affection. Nobis dedit arr-
habonem Spiritus ; a nobis accepit arrhabonem carnis.1 He left us
the pledge of his Spirit, as Elijah ascending, left his mantle ; he took
from us the pledge of our flesh and nature ; therefore certainly all
that have interest in Christ must needs ' love the day of his appearing/
2 Tim. iv. 8.

1 Tertullianus.

224 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 12.

Use. Well, then, often exercise your thoughts in this matter. Think
of the judge, of his majesty, on the glory of his appearance ; when
the graves are opened, rocks are rent, and Christ's unspeakable glory
shall break forth like lightning through the heavens ; when he shall
come riding on the clouds, environed with flames of fire, attended with
all the host of the elect angels, and the great shout and trump shall
summon all before the royal throne of Christ's judgment. Consider,
also, his purity and holiness. When God discovered himself in a par
ticular judgment, they said, 1 Sam. vi. 20, ' Who can stand before this
holy God ? 3 But when Christ cometh to judge all the world, ' with a
garment white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool,' Dan.
vii. 9, how will guilty spotted creatures appear in his presence ?
Christ's throne is ' a white throne/ Eev. xx. 11, and black sinners can
not stand before it. None have confidence in that day but either
such as are of an unspotted innocency, as the angels, or those that
are washed in Christ's blood, as the saints. Consider his strict justice :
nothing so small and inconsiderable but, if it be sinful, God hateth it.
Idle and light words weigh heavy in God's balance, Mat. xii. 36.
Nothing so hidden and secret but is then opened ; deadness, irreve
rence, unsavoriness in holy duties, the least failing or defect in cir
cumstance, manner, or end. A man should never think of the severity
of that day but he should cry out, * If thou, Lord, shouldst mark
iniquities, who shall stand ? ' Ps. cxxx. 3. Stand, that is, rectus m
curia, be able to make a bold defence in that day. Those sins which,
through the commonness and easiness of error, seem to challenge a
pardon of course, and wherein we are most indulgent to ourselves, as
the follies and excesses committed through the heat of youth, and so
in man's account, who hath but a drop of indignation against sin, are
venial, shall be then produced : Eccles. xi. 9, ' Know that for all these
things God will bring thee to judgment/ Oh ! think of these things
to an evangelical purpose, that ye may trust in nothing but Christ's
righteousness against Christ's judgment.

Obs. 4. From that so speak, and so do : that not only our actions,
but our speeches, in which we are less deliberate, come under the judi-
catory of God and the word : Mat. xii. 36, * But I say unto you, that
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account
thereof in the day of judgment ; for by thy words shalt thou be jus
tified, by thy words condemned.' Usually we forget ourselves in our
speeches, and make light account of them ; ay ! but for idle words,
not only evil, but idle, we shall be judged in the last day. Evil words
show a wicked heart, and idle words a vain mind. There is a quick
intercourse between the heart and the tongue ; and whatever aboundeth
in the heart cometh uppermost, and findeth vent in the speech. There
fore let wicked men beware lest ' their own tongue fall upon them,*
Ps. Ixiv. 8. Better have a whole mountain than one evil tongue to
fall upon us ; this will crush you to pieces in the day of wrath. Well,
then, it shows how fond their excuse is who hope they are not so bad
as they make themselves in their words. Alas ! this is one of the
nearest and clearest discoveries of what is in thy heart ; thy tongue
should be thy glory, Ps. ix., and it is thy shame. Evil words have a
cursed influence ; that o-aTrpos Xo7o?, ' rotten communication/ Col. iv. 6,

JAS. II. 13 ] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 225

passeth through others like lightning, and setteth them all on fire.
Behold a great deceit in good things : men think their talking should
excuse their ivalking ; in bad they hope their hearts are good, though
their communications be vile and base. A stinking breath argueth
corrupt lungs ; such putrid and rank speeches come from a foul
heart. Christ asked his disciples, ' What manner of communications
they had ? ' Luke xxiv. 17. Xenophon and Plato gave rules that
men's speeches at meals, and such like meetings, should be written,
that they might be more serious. Oh ! consider, God writeth them.
What a shameful story will be brought out against you at the day of
judgment, when all your rotten and unsavoury speeches shall be num
bered and reckoned up to you ! It is observable, when Paul, Bom.
iii. 13, 14, maketh an anatomy of a natural man, he standeth more
on the organs of speech than all the other members : ' Their throat
is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues have they used deceit ; the
poison of asps is under their lips ; their mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness/ &c. The inward dunghill reeketh, and sendeth forth its
stench most this way.

Ver. 13. For he shall have judgment without mercy that showed
no mercy ; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

He applieth the former direction to the matter : ' So speak, and so
do/ as those that would not come under the rigour of the covenant
of works ; for if you allow yourselves in any sin, or do anything
against any part of the royal law, you can expect nothing but 'judg
ment without mercy.' But to be cruel to your brethren with allow
ance and indulgence is a sin that will put you into that capacity ; not
only as it is an allowed transgression of the law, but a special sin, that
in equity seemeth to require such a judgment ; it being most meet
that they should find no mercy that would show none.

For lie shall have judgment ivithout mercy. — In which expression
he intimateth the effect of the covenant of works, which is judgment
without any mixture and temper of mercy, the law abating nothing to
the transgressor ; as also to imply the retaliation of God : hard men
justly meet with hard dealing and recompense.

That shoiued no mercy. — As if he had said, Mercy is not for those
that only honour rich men, but them that are full of bowels and
bounty to the poor ; for by ' showing no mercy ' he either intendeth
shutting up the bowels against the necessities of the poor, or using
them with contumely, injury, and reproach. They were so far from
giving due respect, that they were guilty of undue disrespect ; a prac
tice which certainly will leave us ashamed at the day of judgment,
when the Lord shall slight our persons, and leave us to our own just
horrors and discouragements.

And mercy rejoiceth over judgment — The word is KaraKawxarai,
'boasteth, lifteth up the head ; as a man will when anything is accom
plished with glory and success. This latter clause hath been tortured
and vexed with diversity of expositions : it were fruitless to number
up all to you : they may be referred to two general heads. Some take
mercy here for God's mercy ; others for man's mercy. They that
apply it to God either expound it thus : They have a severe judg
ment ; and if it be not so with all, it is merely the mercy of God

VOL. IV. P

226 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 13.

which hath rejoiced and triumphed over his justice. So Fulgentius
among the fathers. But this is too forced. Others, as Gregory, <fec.,
carry it, with more probability, thus : Though unmerciful men be
severely handled, yet, in the behalf of others, mercy rejoiceth over
judgment; that is, in the conflict and contest between attributes
about sinners, mercy getteth the victory and upperhand, and so
rejoiceth, as men when they divide the spoil. Piscator maketh out
this sense yet more subtilely, taking KOI, which we translate and, for
though or yet, as it is often in scripture ; and then the sense is,
Though mercy itself would fain rejoice over judgment, acts of pity
and kindness being exercised with more of God's delight, yet at the
sight of unmercif ulness the bowels of it shrink up and retire. I should
incline this way, but that the apostle speaketh here of that mercy
which man showeth to man : for there seemeth to be a thesis and an
antithesis, a position and an opposition, in the verse. In the position
the apostle asserteth that the unmerciful shall find no mercy ; in the
opposition, that mercy findeth the judgment not only tempered, but
overcome ; that is, he that showeth mercy is not in danger of
damnation, for God will not condemn those that imitate his own
goodness ; and therefore he may rejoice over his fears, as one that
hath escaped. Now the orthodox, that go this way of applying it to
man's mercy, do not make this disposition a cause of our acceptance
with God, but an evidence ; mercy showed to men being an assured
pledge of that mercy which he shall obtain with God. I confess all
this Is rational ; but look to the phrase of the text, and you will find
some inconvenience in this opinion ; for it will be a speech of a most
harsh sound and construction to say that our mercy should rejoice
against God's judgment; for then man would seem to have 'somewhat
wherewith to glory before God,' which is contrary to David, who
denieth any work of ours to be justifiable in his sight, Ps. cxliiL 2, or
to be able to hold up the head or neck against his judgment ; con
trary to Christ, who forbiddeth this rejoicing against the divine
judgment, though we be conscious to ourselves of performing our
duty, Luke xvii. 10 ; and contrary to Paul, who saith there is no
glorying before God, Kom. iv. 2. All the rejoicing we have against
God's justice is in the victory of his mercy ; therefore I believe these
two senses may be well compounded and modified each by the other,
thus : It is the mercy of God that rejoiceth over his justice, and it is
mercy in man that giveth us to rejoice in the mercy of God ; and
therefore the wisdom of the apostle is to be observed in framing the
speech so that it might be indifferently compliant with both these
senses. Yea, upon a more accurate and intimate consideration of the
words, I find that the opposition in the apostle's speech doth not lie so
much between unmercifulness and mercy, as between judgment with
out mercy and judgment overcome by mercy. Therefore, upon the
issue of the whole debate, I should judge that the apostle's speech is
elliptical, and more must be understood than is expressed ; mercy in
God being expressed as the rise of our triumph, and mercy in man
being understood as the evidence of it : and the sum is, that the
merciful man may glory as one that hath received mercy, for the
mercy of God rejoicing over the justice of God in his behalf ; he may

JAS. II. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 227

rejoice over Satan, sin, death, hell, and his own conscience. In the
court of heaven the mercy of God rejoiceth ; in the court of conscience,
the mercy of man : the one noteth a victory over the divine justice,
the other a victory over our own fears.

The observations are these : —

Obs. 1. The condition of men under the covenant of works is very
miserable. They meet with justice without any temper of mercy.
The word speaketh no comfort to them. Either exact duty or extreme
misery are the terms of that covenant. 'Do and live,' and 'do
and die,' is the only voice you shall hear whilst you hold by that
tenure. God asked of Adam, ' What hast thou done ? ' not, Hast thou
repented ? So in the prophet, Ezek. xviii., ' The soul that sinneth
shall die.' The least breach is fatal. To man fallen the duty of that
covenant is impossible, the penalty of it is intolerable. Fore-going
sins cannot be expiated by subsequent duties. Paying of new debts
doth not quit the old score. Will you hope in God's mercy ? One
attribute is not exercised to the prejudice and wrong of another. In
that covenant God intendeth to glorify justice, and you are engaged
to a righteous law, and both law and justice must have satisfaction.
As the word speaketh no comfort, so providence yieldeth none. All
God's dispensations are judicial : Ezek. vii. 5, 'An evil, and an only
evil/ Their crosses are altogether curses. There is nothing befalleth
them that are under the covenant of grace, but there is some good in
it ; something to invite hope, or to allay sorrow : ' In wrath God
remembereth mercy/ Hab. iii. 2. The rod is not turned into a ser
pent, and therefore comforteth, Ps. xxiii. 5. Whereas to these every
comfort is salted with a curse ; and in their discomforts there is
nothing but a face and an appearance of wrath. But the worst of the
covenant of works is hereafter. When he dealeth with his people all
in mercy, he will deal with them all in judgment : Rev. xiv. 10, ' A
cup of wrath unmixed ; ' that is, simple and bare ingredients of
wrath. Yet it is said, Ps. Ixxv. 8, that 'the cup of the Lord is
full mixed ; ' full mixed with all sorts of plagues, but unmixed, with
out the least drop or temperament of mercy. Oh ! how will ye do to
suffer those torments that are without ease and without end ? Eev.
xx. 7, ' They shall be cast into the lake that burneth with fire and
brimstone, where they shall be tormented for ever and ever/ Nothing
more painful to the sense than fire ; no fire more noisome or more scald
ing than brimstone ; and all this for ever and ever. There is an eternity
of extremity ; it is without measure and without end , which is the hell
of hell, that after a thousand years are passed over, that worm dieth
not, and that fire is not quenched. The brick-hills and the furnace of
Babel are but shadows to it. There was a sad howling and yelling in
Sodom when God rained hell out of heaven. How did the poor scalded
creatures run up and down in that deluge of brimstone, and shriek
and howl because of their pains ! Oh ! but what weeping and gnash
ing will there be in hell, when a ' fiery stream shall go out from the
throne of God/ Dan. vii. 10, and poor damned creatures shall wal
low hither and thither, and have ' not a drop to cool their tongues ! '
Well, then, it should awaken those that are under the covenant of
works to come under the banner of grace. Those that are condemned

228 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JAS. II. 13.

in one court have liberty of appeal to another ; and when ' ye are
dead,' and lost to the first law, you may be ; alive to God/ Gal. ii. 19.
Let ' the avenger of blood' make you fly to ' the city of refuge/ But
you will say, Who are now under the covenant of works ? There is a
vulgar prejudice abroad which supposeth that the first covenant was
repealed and disannulled upon the fall, and that God now dealeth
with us upon new terms ; as if the covenant of grace did wholly ex
trude and shut out the former contract, wherein they think Adam only
was concerned. But this is a gross mistake, because it was made not
only with Adam, but with all his seed. And every natural man,
whilst natural, whilst merely a son of Adam, is obliged to the tenor
of it. The form of the law runneth universally, ' Cursed is every one
that/ &c., Gal, iii. 10 ; which rule brooketh no exception but that of
free grace and interest in Christ. And therefore every child, even
those born in the church, are obnoxious to the curse and penalty of it :
' Children of wrath, even as others/ Eph. ii. 3 ; and therefore are natural
men described by this term, ' Those that are under the law/ Gal. iv. 5 ;
that is, under the bond and curse of the law of works. If the law of
works had been repealed and laid aside presently upon Adam's fall,
Christ had not come under the bond and curse of it as our substitute
and surety, for he was to take our debt upon him, to submit to the
duty and penalty of our engagement ; therefore it is said, in the place
last quoted, he was ' made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law/ So also Gal. iii. 13, ' He was made a curse for us ; '
that is, in our room and place. And, again, the law is not repealed,
because it is an unchangeable rule, according to which God proceedeth,
fjLta fcepaia : l Not a pick of the law shall pass away/ Mat. v. 18, till all
be fulfilled, either by the creature, or upon the creature, by us, or by
our surety. It is the covenant of works that condemneth all the sons
of Adam. The rigour of it brought Christ from heaven to fulfil it for
believers. Either we must have Christ to fulfil it, or for the breach
of it we must perish for ever. And therefore our apostle saith, that
at the day of judgment God proceedeth with all men according to the
two covenants; some are 'judged by the law of liberty/ and some
' have judgment without mercy/ The two covenants have two prin
cipal confederate parties that contracted for them and their heirs —
Adam and Christ ; therefore, as long as thou art Adam's heir, thou
hast Adam's engagement upon thee. The covenant of works was
made with Adam and his seed, who were all natural men. The
covenant of grace with Christ and his seed, who are believers, Isa. liii.
10. God will own no interest in them that claim by Adam. As
Abraham was to reckon his seed by Isaac, not by Ishmael, 'la
Isaac shall thy seed be called ; ' so God's children are reckoned
by Christ. Others, that have but a common interest, cherish
a vain hope : ' God that made them will not save them/ Isa.
xxvii. 11.

But you will say, how shall we more distinctly know what is our
claim and tenure ? I answer —

1. It is a shrewd presumption that you are under the old bond,
if you cannot discern how your copy and tenure is changed. The
heirs of promise are described to be those that ' fly for refuge to

JAS. II. 13.J UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 229

the hope that is before them/ Heb. vi. 18. God's children are usually
frighted out of themselves by some avenger of blood ; and do the
more earnestly come under the holy bond of the new oath, and fly to
Christ, by considering the misery of their standing in Adam. The
apostle supposed that wrath made inquisition for him, and therefore
crieth out, ' Oh! that I might be found in him/ Phil. iii. 9. They
that presume that they had ever faith and a good heart towards God,
grossly mistake. That justiciary said, ' All these I kept from my
youth/ Mat. xix. 20.

2. Much may be discerned from the present state and frame of your
hearts. If they carry a proportion with the covenant of works, it is
to be feared you hold by that title and copy. As (1.) When the
spirit is legal. There is a suitable spirit both to law and gospel. A
servile spirit is the spirit of the law, a free spirit is the spirit of the
gospel. It is the character of men under works: Heb. ii. 15, 'All
their lifetime they are subject to bondage.' Keligion is careful, but a
foolish scrupulosity and servile awe argue bondage. See Bom. viii.
15, arid 2 Tim. i. 7. (2.) When we seek ' a righteousness of our own/
Bom. x. 3, and settle our life and peace upon a foundation of our own
works. The covenant of works is natural to us. Common people hope
to be saved by their works and good meaning, and by their good
prayers to be accepted with God. ' What shall we do ? ' is the